Anybody know a place to get dried gourds? I'd like to do a project with them and can't find any sources (online or not). I'd also really prefer it if they were cleaned out on the inside (would any place even offer that?), but right now I'd settle for just dried ones.

Thanks all.
Jenny

Gourds are definitely a farm market thing. Look for pumpkin stands or weekend vegetable markets or drive the rural roads and look for farm stands. No place save a pumpkin seller will have lots and lots of gourds.

These gourds will mostly be intact, seeds and all. Piercing the shell is hard work and introduces bacteria to start it rotting before it dries.

If you want the birdhouse gourds, the only way I know to get them is to grow them or cadge them from folks who do. Some craft shops will carry them if local growers provide them. These will usually be cleaned and drilled already for you.

Check supermarkets for a tiny section near the squash and pumpkins for gourds.

Last, I've gotten a type of pine cone that doesn't grow around my area in an online auction. You might find one of those small growers has a few gourds listed around now.

Dried gourds for purely decorative reasons typically still have the seeds and dried threads of pulp inside, because there is no reason to clean them out.

If you get your gourds fresh (like from a farmers' market) they are MUCH easier to work with vis a vis cleaning out. Once they dry, fuggedabout it.

I have a lovely scar on my hand from an electric drill gone crazy while I was trying to drill through a dried gourd.

After you clean 'em out they dry VERY quickly.

Jelly, there are lots of places online that sell dried gourds. I even get some on Ebay, where you can see exactly what you're getting.

Here are a couple of links:>http://www.foothillsfarm.com/egourds/selections.htm>http://gourdgracious.homestead.com/gourds.html>http://www.sandlady.com>http://welburngourdfarm.com

99.9% of the time you're going to get uncleaned gourds - since they don't know what you're going to want to do with them, it would be difficult for them to know how to cut them (in order to clean them out) ahead of time to suit your needs. The only time I've seen pre-cleaned gourds is when they've already been cut to make a birdhouse. They're really easy to clean, tho, just water and a brush.

I've been doing gourd crafts for about a year and am just getting serious about it now, so I'd be happy to share my mistakes and discoveries.