this my second year growing gourds and i was very surprised to find one of my best bushels spit right open today ,very discurging for me ,and thats why im on now to see if i can figure it out mine happend right after a three day down pour ,and now ernesto is bearing down on us ,hope it isnt exsesive water one entry i was reading said that cutting back on water after sep will help prevent this but i need more info well good luck

northerngirlz3,
I've had this happen the last 2 years with my egg gourds. This summer it's not as bad as last summer. I was told it was like tomatos that split after very hot and dry weather then big rains. I have grandkids so we just made bugs and things like that with them. I was surprised and very happy they dried so well.
Sue in MN.

Thanks for the info! That is right, we had a long dry hot spell, followed by several inches of rain in one night.

Sue - are you saying that you even dried the split ones? Or do you mean the others dried ok? I've been throwing out the split ones, if I should keep them, let me know!!
Thanks!!

Yes! They did dry! I even left them outside under the snow and they still dried fine. The grandkids and I picked them this spring, washed, painted and glued them into fun bugs. They were great for them because they sat flat. Some were thin but then I might have tossed them anyway. No big deal.
Sometimes it pays to be lazy! lol Oh I'm such a hoarder that I don't toss any gourds unless and until they collapse.
Good luck,
Sue in MN

Hi my husband brought home two nest eggs this weekend we don't know very much about them how do you plant do you have to cut them open to get the seeds out or can you just drop the whole egg in the soil . We own 16 chickens and are wanting to use these as nest eggs instead of the ceramic or wooden ones that we purchased at the feed store