G H HERE IS WHAT THE GROWING PROCESS LOOKS LIKE FOR MEADOWBROOKE GOURDS! • PLANTING. In May, Meadowbrooke Gourds plants seeds in the greenhouse. As seedlings, the gourds are brought outside to harden before planting in the ground. In early June, the gourds are planted in the elds. • POLLINATING. Next, it is time for hand pollinating gourd owers in July. Hand pollinating consists of the farm crew nding male owers and taking a paint brush or cotton swab around the stamen to collect the pollen.Then 2-3 female owers are found, and the pollen is spread inside them. • HARVESTING. The gourds will grow all summer until the rst hard frost. Frost kills the vines, so the farm crew will cut each gourd off the vine and line them up in a row for winter. During the winter, the gourd hardens.The skin will begin to mold and peel off. In spring, each gourd is hand picked and sorted according to size and shape. GROWINGGOURDS HERE IS HOW MEADOWBROOKE GOURDS TURNS THEIR HARVESTED GOURDS INTO BEAUTIFUL DÉCOR PIECES FOR YOUR HOME! • WASHING. Washing is the rst step in the process which consists of getting the old skin and mold off the outside of the gourd.This is where the insides are washed out of any gourd that will be lit. • CRAFTING. In the crafting area, patterns are drawn on the outside of the gourd and cut out.Woodburning is also done at this stage. • FINISHING. Finishing is where all gourds are painted or dyed, and a clear coat is added.All parts and accessories are added to nish the design. • SHIPPING. Each gourd is given a nal quality check before being boxed up and heading to shipping.Any gourd that does not make it through this check gets put into “oops” and sold at a discount. HANDCRAFTING GOURDS BELOW: Each year the designers produce new ideas for gourd designs, but the classics like snowmen and jack-o’-lanterns are offered every year. Other gourd designs like cows, chickens, fruit and birdhouses are offered year-round. Head to their website www.mbgourds.com to see all their products and the event schedule! After over 20 years of growing gourds, Meadowbrook now crafts over 250 kinds of gourds! The crafting team has over 40 years of combined experience, and each craftsman works thousands of hours to master their skill. After the gourds are cut off the vines, they are lined up outside to harden.The reason that the gourds are so good for crafting is due to their hard shells and the fact that they don’t rot. The gourds are planted on mounds of dirt that are covered with black plastic.As the gourds grow throughout the summer, the black plastic attracts more heat for the roots of the gourds. HOLIDAYdécor | 2022 21
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