NOTICE : These are NOT Gourds - These are the Gourd SEEDS to grow your own.

Because of a slight accident, where the boxes of both the 'Dipper' and the 'Birdhouse' gourd seeds were mixed together, we will be selling these as combined seeds now. I actually think that you will like them both. I do. They are actually the same color and texture, once dried - it is just that the Dipper has a longer neck, which is very pretty too.

I have loved these since I was a very little girl. We had relatives in the Ozarks, on a little farm, and these birdhouse gourds were hung everywhere, with birds flitting in and out feeding their young. How charming.

When the gourd is completely dry, use sandpaper to clean its outside surface. Treat the gourd with a 10% solution of bleach and water so as to protect the gourd from rot and fungal molds. Wear rubber gloves and eye protection and soak the gourd in the solution for about 15 minutes or so. Place on a clean surface and allow to dry.

For an entrance, use an expansion bit or hole saw, and cut a hole just at the center of the gourd. Clean out the inside of the gourd with a serrated knife to break up the pith and seeds. Drill two 1/4 inch-diameter holes at the stem end for the hanger, which may be a piece of rigid wire (such as a coat hanger) or a strip of rawhide, don't put in the tree without padding under the wire so as not to scar the tree.

Then drill four or five holes in the bottom for drainage, with the 3/8” drill bit, and 6 or 8 around the sides for ventilation. Seal it with polyurethane, varnish, paint any color you like, and enjoy
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. . . . 18 SEEDS

Please visit our website at - www.mizztizzysweedsandseeds.com - for a copy of the Catalog, a Free copy of the Cookbook, and a Free copy of the Gardening Journal for your personal own use.