The Decorating of pumpkins

[Stormswift]

Heya all hoping some clever brothers and sisters could give me the method for preserving pumpkins.

 

Let me explain ... amongst my cucumbers, eggplants, chillies and capsicum a lot of pumpkin has self seeded themselves. Yay! Not! But what I'd like to do with rather than eat them, is decorate with paintings, maybe even ornate carvings and have them preserved and sitting around my yard as a decoration.

 

Has anyone done a similar thing to this with Gourds? Can you treat a pumpkin like a Gourd? Same drying time or can we pick it when it's kinda little before it matures - does that reduce the drying time? (Usually a year with Gourds I believe).

 

 

(Posted here rather than the food section as it's more about hobbies than eating).

 

[Tortuga]

We had pumpkin pancakes with warm apple compote this morning. Hmmmm...

[Stormswift]

Well there's a story behind not eating them here ... Tom grew up on a farm ...they had a whole hillside full of pumpkins - His grandmother made pumpkin scones, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie et c etc etc - Tom cannot eat pumpkin now - and I prefer sweet potato and he prefers potato - so yeah there's so many of them I'll allow a few to grow to normal size and give away but most I reckon could be decorated - I've seen jewellery boxes made from Gourds and ornate vases - and was wondering if I could do the same. 

[Stormswift]

Take a look at some of these!

 

 

[Tortuga]

Casa Grande Ariz, there's a nice Assembly Hall there...

[Stormswift]

Yeah? Get me some gourd seeds next time you are there!! Just checking out whether we can get gourds in NZ ... something I've not seen at all at markets or the like. 

[Stormswift]

tis ok found some seeds on our local auction site. Ill get those tomorrow they are only a few dollars. 

[nanceebgd46]

Thanks Mandi for posting the video about gourds....that was nice to

see all the different...art projects...using the gourds.  Mandi, your'er 

bringing up this subject matter was the first time I've heard about

painting, decorating gourds...just have never heard before....I learned

something.

 

[Good-O]

On 1/8/2018 at 8:40 PM, Stormswift said:

Well there's a story behind not eating them here ... Tom grew up on a farm ...they had a whole hillside full of pumpkins - His grandmother made pumpkin scones, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie et c etc etc - Tom cannot eat pumpkin now - and I prefer sweet potato and he prefers potato - so yeah there's so many of them I'll allow a few to grow to normal size and give away but most I reckon could be decorated - I've seen jewellery boxes made from Gourds and ornate vases - and was wondering if I could do the same. 

Good morning - enjoyed your post.  How about making bird houses?  I like sweet potato as well - and so does my cat, Tipper!