I've been grwoing gourds for about 25 years. The very best way to dry them is to just leave them on the vine well after a frost. I understand you most liklely have snow so after a frost kills the vine and before snow and a hard freeze, cut the stems as long as possible and hang them somewhere where they will not freeze...good air circulation is vital....keep them dry, warm and in a few months you'll hear the seeds rattle. They are ready to use. If the seeds don't rattle they are not cured and if cut into they most likely will rot. They might get mouldy but this won't hurt them one bit, don't discard them if they get moldy, it will dry and wash off when they are totally cured..... I have a large amount of bushel basket, pengin and canteen gourd seeds, if any one is interested, I'll send them out to you for postage.... Gourds are so fun and useful for so many things. My birds love them. arkiema

Usually refers to a variety/varieties like neck pumpkins, Tahitian melons. These are butternut types (C. moschata) with extra long necks. Very recently some vendors are including Cushaws (C. Mixta) many of which have crooknecks. Here is a link that might be useful: Neck Pumpkin

I wish I had some to trade. The "secret garden" sounds like a fun project. Is this for yourself, or for children? What other plantings are going into this garden? Don't give up on finding someone to trade with, this is a slow time on the gourd forum. And, are you wanting seeds, or the mature gourds? Jan

I live in NW Iowa (up by Spencer) and we just started planting pumpkins yesterday. You can start planting your gourd seeds anytime. I mound up a nice pile of soil and plant 4 seeds per hill and will add compost through out the summer around hill. You can plant your gourds with your pumpkins and it won't hurt them. The gourds will be about the last thing you will pick in the fall as they take a LONG time to complete their growing. I let my cure on the vine and then take them in the late fall. The smaller gourds or long bottle neck gourds do great on fences. Just make sure you have a sturdy fence as the vine gets heavy when loaded down with gourds. They dry much faster on vines that have run up fence. Good luck to you Sue