Perhaps U should have pruned the vines to force them into flowering. Most sources suggest that you trim the main vine once it reaches 10 to 12 feet. That forces the vine to branch and it is generally on the branch vines that the female flowers form. I THINK?

Well, if you keep them in a dry environment they may. I've also heard of drilling a small hole in the shell to better let moisture out. Even so, some may just go bad. I don't have experience drying these. However I raise a pumpkin-like summer squash and save seed each year. The fruit look like medium sized green & white mottled pumpkins. I've had them dry out on the shelf, before I get around to removing the seed. George Tahlequah, OK

Tubs are pretty, but if you have one elsewhere in the house I believe you will be much happier in the long run with a big shower. I love my new big shower! It's so nice to have room to dry off. We installed a Solatube in our shower and we had never done that sort of thing before. It was very easy and it does not leak (my big fear). It looks a bit like a decapitated R2D2 on the roof from outside, so keep that in mind. It really brightens the room, even though we have a wall of windows in there already. You cannot see the sky through them, though. The lake view would be a must for me, whether it is in the bathroom or the bedroom. The bigger the windows the better! Obscured glass doors is a brilliant idea. Cutting through the slab and installing new pipes is not rocket science, it's just tedious hard work. If you hire a plumber to do any of the actual pipe work, be sure to check often that all pipes are INSIDE the walls and do not jut into the area where you will be attaching the drywall, and that the drains and toilet flanges are LEVEL. The screws for the toilet should be positioned correctly too. There are a lot of little measurements that can make your life miserable if not done correctly when the plumbing is roughed in. Good luck! Renee

Hi Tammy, We have dried ornamental gourds for Christmas ornaments, etc. I have read that there is a mixture of borax and water that you can dip them in and help them dry, but we found that scraping the colored skin off, then letting them dry works very well. We use a paring knife that is not real sharp, and scrape, scrape, scrape. Be careful not to cut into the gourd flesh, as this will cause it to rot. They won't take too long to dry, but we put them in our little green house to speed things along. It will probably take a month or maybe a few weeks longer. When they are dry they can be drilled, painted, stained, or, whatever. They make beautiful tree decorations. Good Luck, Your gourd friend, Jan