Gord water canteen

[duckey]

Wanting to grow a gord and make a water canteen. I saw one a few years ago and it was real simple. Anyone try making one? If so what type of gord do I need, methods used to keep if shaped the way you want it while growing. I'm assuming you have to waterproof the the inside.....melted beeswax? Any info and pics helpful

[dagger dog]

Try this https://www.gardeningknowhow.com, then use the custom search "gourd canteen".

[duckey]

Thanks I'll check it out. I found a place in WI, Quarry Farm Gourds that sells seeds for all sorts of gourd varieties. I bought 12 Canteen gourd seeds for $6 shipped. The are up to 12-15" diameter up to 6" tall. I saw this gourd used for making a canteens as well as Pumkin hollow gourds. They take a year to dry though. Hurry up and wait.

[mazo kid]

I had a nice gourd canteen several years ago ( note the key word......had). You need to be careful in handling them when filled with water. Mine fell off a table and split, well, like a water filled gourd! If you do rendezvous events, you may find one already made.

[duckey]

Well I got two mounds of guards planted after soaking and then trimming edges to help germination. I have one that has started sprouting after a week. Hopefully everything works out! Mazo Kid.... did you coat the inside of yours you had with beeswax! I hear that is a method some use. I'd imagine it would be fragile when filled with water.

[Squeeze]

My Mom has a bowl of dried gourds she puts out every fall for the holidays as a decoration. same bunch for probably over 30 years. Im pretty sure she got them fresh and let them dry. some rattle, some dont. Mostly all small ones. I doubt they would be very strong for canteen use. It would probably work, but after the time and effort spent to dry them, and have them leak or drop... Might have to make them in bulk and expect some...loss

[pietro]

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I would suggest sandwiching a few of the gourds between a couple of boards, so that the boards can be drawn together to gradually compress the gourds into a flat shape while they're growing.

Please don't forget to post pics of your endeavor for us to drool over......... :)

.

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[fiberoptik]

Look here.
http://www.castbullet.com/makeit/gourd.htm


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[duckey]

Update on my Canteen Gourd trial this year. I had 2 out of 12 seeds make it, with a couple not even germinating. I started 2 mounds with 3 or 4 seeds in each outside after clipping and then soaking seeds for a week and keeping on top of my water heater to help the process. Those seeds sprouted and began to grow however spring rain led to stem rot and they started to die off, I dug the remaining seedlings out of the ground and move em into my 5' x 5' green house and they took off quite well. Late August, the two plants just grew like will fire and crawled up my fence and one up my bean strings. They then blossomed and produced gourds that stayed about the size of a golf ball for the longest time. About Mid August to the third week I wrote this season off as a bust as I didn't think they would grown big enough in time, however I was wrong, the gourds plant with the most sun produced some nice big gourds, prolly to tall for a canteen, the plant with half sun has some nice size hours growing. According to the inter web I should pick them when the vine turns brown which I am assuming when the plant starts to die, then wash the gourds in a mild bleach solution to kill any mold on the gourds which would ruin or create dark spots on the gourd. Also I was watering 2x daily, morning and evening, the evening watering on my zucchini and butternut squash led to leaf fungus which spread like crazy, but not much on the gourds. Also the Cucumber beetles were chewing things up purdy good so I had to spray a few times to keep them at bay. I'll post some pics soon of my two gourd plants. Next will be harvest and then a long drying time until I can make a gourd.

[Pavia]

How much shine can one carry?

[LAGS]

Many Many years ago, I grew Gourds and Pumpkins.
I made some two piece molds out of plaster of paris.
Then while the gourd would still fit inside, I clamped the mold around the gourds or pumpkin and let it finish growing.
It wasnt always 100% , but it was and interesting project.
I tried it after I saw something in school in the '60's about a pumpkin farmer making Aluminum molds and growing pumpkins that looked like Abraham Lincolns face.

[webfoot10]

I used to make gourd canteens to sell at rendezvous. Not hard to make, just takes time.
You have to scrape the gourd to get them to dry properly. After they are dry, you have
to coat them with shellac or varnish to help keep them from cracking. Then you need to
coat the inside with beeswax. Even coated with wax, the water never tasted that good
and they were very fragile. I use to have my wife make a macramé net around the gourd
with a carry strap. While I sold quite a few, the guys used them mostly for their persona
as a mountain man or colonial soldier for historical reinactments. Fun to make, but not
practical for everyday use, being so fragile.

[country gent]

Wonder if you used a long cure clear epoxy instead of the shellac / varnish if it would soak in and strengthen them some. maybe same on the inside to seal better. A couple coats would seal from the gourd and maybe make a better barrier. But then I've never tasted really good water from a canteen LOL

[Blogman]

How much shine can one carry?
Ditto, I was right there with ya man.

[LAGS]

I did coat the inside and outside of the gourds with fiberglass resin for my wife to make flower pots or knick necks out of.
It made them stronger , but I never made them into canteens

[duckey]

I used to make gourd canteens to sell at rendezvous. Not hard to make, just takes time.
You have to scrape the gourd to get them to dry properly. After they are dry, you have
to coat them with shellac or varnish to help keep them from cracking. Then you need to
coat the inside with beeswax. Even coated with wax, the water never tasted that good
and they were very fragile. I use to have my wife make a macramé net around the gourd
with a carry strap. While I sold quite a few, the guys used them mostly for their persona
as a mountain man or colonial soldier for historical reinactments. Fun to make, but not
practical for everyday use, being so fragile.

Can you elaborate on scraping? Just curious. Good tips!

[duckey]

I thought about board type clamps to keep em flatter, however one of the gourd plants that grew in half shade is producing small diameter and "squatter" gourds than the plant in full sun....makes sense. I have tried to upload pics to my phone to then upload here but it keeps giving me an error message. I have not exceeded my 10mb on my photo limit for this site so will have to figure it out on my apple desk too which is always fun.

[webfoot10]

Can you elaborate on scraping? Just curious. Good tips!
ducky; The gourd will have a waxy like skin when ripe. This has to be scraped off with a
sharp knife so the gourd will dry quickly. The hardest part will be getting the seeds and
membrane out of the gourd. Working through the small neck opening I use a 1/4 in rod
flattened out like a small spoon, bend it into a small curve and scrape the inside till the
seeds and junk fall out. Go easy so you don't break the neck. Sounds like fun. don't it.
Good luck with your project.
webfoot10

[pietro]

.

A good way to work against their fragility is to pad the gourd canteen with leather.


https://i.pinimg.com/736x/d5/67/5b/d5675b3635e5b09f615ef99e5df52ca0--mountain-man-gourds.jpg

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[duckey]

ducky; The gourd will have a waxy like skin when ripe. This has to be scraped off with a
sharp knife so the gourd will dry quickly. The hardest part will be getting the seeds and
membrane out of the gourd. Working through the small neck opening I use a 1/4 in rod
flattened out like a small spoon, bend it into a small curve and scrape the inside till the
seeds and junk fall out. Go easy so you don't break the neck. Sounds like fun. don't it.
Good luck with your project.
webfoot10
Thanks for the tip. I have not scraped any of mine. Had one darn near dry by Late November, all the others started to turn about a month ago.ill post some pics today.

[duckey]

I put 4 on op of my kitchen cuborads and the rest in my somewhat heated garage, trying to figure out which would be better. I may try scraping my two greenest ones to expedite drying.
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[Ballistics in Scotland]

I did coat the inside and outside of the gourds with fiberglass resin for my wife to make flower pots or knick necks out of.
It made them stronger , but I never made them into canteens

Ah, it is a comfort in old age to find how fifty year old memories return! They make, or used to make, a special tasteless resin or gelcoat for boat water-tanks.

I think the wax they use for candle-making has a higher melting-point than the hand-mouldable kind I used to remember in childhood, and certainly than beeswax. Although I am sure the last is the type used back in the earlies, the candle wax is probably more durable and less likely to impart a taste.

I remember someone breaking a lamp she had had for several decades, made from sort of dried tropical calabash. It turned out to have numerous examples of some kind of weevil glued to the inside by whatever had dried there. That could be a social liability if you say, like Colonel Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now", someone you admire can drink from your canteen. You should always choose the lesser of two weevils and I think it might be the resin.

[duckey]

Scraped two in about 10 min.
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[toot]

keep us posted. i had one i used for years, took to all of the F&I events and kept it in my attic till one day i found out that MICE rely like them, end of my LARGEINAREA GOURD WATER BOTTLE! so do not store them were the little critters may be, where ever that might be? there every where!!.

[mazo kid]

The canteen that I HAD was about 14" tall with a long neck. They also make great Bluebird houses! Here in Wisconsin it is best to start seeds indoors as they take a long time to mature.

[duckey]

SOOO.....scraping two of my gourds resulted in them starting to turn into a raisn rendering them unusable for a canteen. Bummer! I have two left that I did not scrape and are just about dried, have a good shape and size, not to big not to small.

[fiberoptik]

Many Many years ago, I grew Gourds and Pumpkins.
I made some two piece molds out of plaster of paris.
Then while the gourd would still fit inside, I clamped the mold around the gourds or pumpkin and let it finish growing.
It wasnt always 100% , but it was and interesting project.
I tried it after I saw something in school in the '60's about a pumpkin farmer making Aluminum molds and growing pumpkins that looked like Abraham Lincolns face.

In Japan they grow square watermelons [emoji525] using glass boxes [emoji403]. They have better stacking and eye candy.


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