24+ SHORT HANDLED DIPPER GOURD SEEDS PLUS very detailed instructions on growing them and drying them. These gourds are flat on the bottom, have handles from 14" - 18" long and are 14" - 16" in circumference at their widest point on the dipper.
Express your creativity painting these gourds - anything you can do with wood (paint, stain, cut, drill, carve) you can do with dried gourds. Native Americans decorated them and used them for rattles; settlers cut them and used them to dip water with (thus the name); they make great birdhouses, too. Great fun for children and adults, alike! Easy to grow!
Picture is of a few gourds in various stages of drying (the one on the left has been cut and made into a 'dipper'). I've included a couple of standard fast-pitch softballs for reference on the size of the gourds. Each vine will get up to 20 feet and needs to grow on a fence, trellis or other sturdy structure for straight necks or can be grown on the ground for 'crook-necked' gourds. Requires full sun and about a 100 day growing season. Full growing instructions are included with the seeds, as well as instructions for drying the gourds.
A WORD OF WARNING ABOUT GOURD SEEDS
Be cautious when purchasing gourd seeds; growing many types of gourds or squash in close proximity to each other WILL affect the seeds by creating cross-pollinated gourds. The gourds themselves will be fine, but the seeds WILL produce something that does not resemble the original. In reality, there is no 100% guaranteed distance to avoid cross-pollination because bees and moths can fly long distances, but I keep my gourds 300 – 400 feet apart to considerably reduce the chances of cross pollination. In addition, I save my seeds and grow my gourds from my own seeds from year to year - so I KNOW mine have not cross-pollinated. Ask sellers how they avoid cross-pollination before you buy.
