I bought some gourd seeds today now what?

A hairdresser I had many, many years ago decided to start painting gourds as gifts and he ended up quitting hairdressing and playing with gourds full time! He painted a lot of them to look like Santa and I can't remember what all else, but he had loads of them and they were very good. I did a search and found all sorts of things, but I'm not sure what you're looking for. There are sites for where to find seed, how to grow, when to harvest, how to dry, what to make, etc. Do a search for 'ornamental gourds' or just 'gourds'. You'll come up with all sorts of things.

No idea from me, just be created. How about hollowing them out, and cutting the tops off. You can make decorative boxes, or bird feeders. Take the tops off of them, hollow them out, and fill them with bird food, and suspend them from the trees next to the houses. That way the birds can have a meal before going into the house for the night. That will make them very happy.

The growing part is the easy part - or at least has been for me, this is the first year I've grown them myself and have on the fence right now 30 or 40 gourds just for birdhouses. The vines do go crazy and love to climb but I have a few that spread out into the pumpkin area and are doing fine too. I have done a lot of research on the process so here's most of what I've learned: When they vines die off you'll know their done but that's not the end of it/ Clean the dirt off and let sun dry for a day or so. Then they need a cool, dark, dry, ventilated area to dry (this can take several months to a year). You'll know their dry when the seeds rattle inside. Now the real work begins - while drying they will develope mold spots on them and a flaky skin covering - this all needs to be cleaned off. The old ones that were laying around here I sanded with sandpaper but learned a better way. Soak in water just for a minute then take a steel or copper scrub pad and clean clean clean. After clean you want to let them dry again - this only take a day or so. Then you want to drill a whole for the 'enterance' as well as small holes at the top for a 'hanger' and 3 small holes in the bottom for drainage. Empty out seeds and save for next year and clean remaining junk out from inside. Your ready to paint :) I found a site that has listed what sized attract what birds, different birds prefer different colors as well as different sized entry holes too. I'm clearing a space in the basement for mine and will set them on skids to keep them off the floor to avoid rotting. It's a very long process which is why I decided with the space I have to plant I'm going to plant a million next year and sell the unpainted gourds to people who don't have the time, space, or patience to grow their own but want to paint them.

Mabey you can cut the top off and clean it out and make a vase??. I have no idea i have never planted gourds or even made a birdhouse out of them BUT i have seen people... my question is,can you eat gourds? hahaha i mean they're grown like veggies right?. so can you? I wish you luck with your planting. and im sure someone will beable to help ya with the whole harvesting questions... i am so blonde when it comes to all that ha ha.