Gourd Birdhouse - Seed

Gourd Lauki (Birdhouse).

Gourd Lauki can be eaten when harvested young, the taste is like a zucchini. It is a very nice gourd to get creative with, make your own painted birdhouse or bird feeder for our winged friends. The fruits of Kalebas Lauki have a bottle shape with a hard skin. If you grow them hanging, they will have a long, straight bottle neck. If they are grown on the ground, the neck can grow crooked.

Fact

Unlike pumpkins and gourds, this plant does not bear yellow but white flowers. Did you know that the white flowers are only pollinated by nocturnal insects, namely moths. Yellow flowers are only pollinated by day-active insects.

If the gourd is dried and hollowed out correctly, the skin becomes very hard and can be processed. The dried gourd is ideal for painting and/or using as a plant watering can, and they can also be stored for a very long time. To this day, this is still done in Africa. Water jars, musical instruments and even lamps have been made from it since prehistoric times.

Sow

You can sow the seeds in a container around March (2 to 3 cm below the soil). Plant the seedlings in the open ground around mid-May.

The strong seeds are very suitable for sowing directly in the ground. You can let the gourd climb or crawl, but give them space. The leaves of this Gourd are blue/green in color.

You can find a lot of information online about how to dry and process the gourd.

Have fun with Kalebas Lauki!