The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (with Gourd!)

A gourd is a type of hollow pumpkin that was used in the past for many things.

Its main use though was for water storage.

In this instructable we will make a simple hangable flower pot.

This pot has the advantage of keeping away crawling pests like snails and slugs.

Step 1: Materials and Tools

You will need :

• a medium sized gourd
• a screwdriver (optional)
• a utility knife
• some hanging wire or a string
• soil
• a plant
• a rasp (optional)

Step 2: Prepare the Gourd

Make a circular hole to the gourd using the knife.

Widen the hole with your rasp if you wish.

Then gut the gourd removing all the seeds from the inside.

Step 3: Make Some Draining Holes

Drill some draining holes at the bottom of the gourd.

I made them with a Phillips screwdriver, twisting it in my hand.

4-6 holes will suffice.

Step 4: Prepare the Bottom

It is a good practice to block the holes with curvy pieces from broken bricks.

If you don't do it, the plant will eventually extend its root system to the point of blocking completely the draining holes.

When this happens, all the water is retained inside the gourd and the plant will die.

The only solution would be to brake the gourd and replant.

Step 5: Fill in the Gourd

Fill in the gourd with soil.

Also, tie a string (or some wire) to the stem. This will be the hanging point.

Step 6: Finished!

Plant, hang and water.

In the photo I have planted spearmint.

You can plant flowers, strawberries, herbs etc and keep those pesky snails off your green friends!

Comments

[AbbyW1]

This was a really cool project and I've never thought of growing plants in a gourd - maybe I'll have to try! Useful and unique.

I do think, though, that this project should have been titled "Hanging Gourd-ens"...

[taloskriti]

Thanks for looking! Neat title! I wonder if I can change my boring title and substitute it with yours instead.

[blkhawk]

I noticed that you did not mention that a respirator should be worn when sanding gourds. Some of these gourds come with fungal spores that should not be breathed.

[taloskriti]

I honestly did not know that it carries fungal spores. I treated it as any other wood dust, meaning that I processed it outside avoiding the wind. Thanks for teaching me!

[blkhawk]

I learned about the spores when I was researching about using gourds as bird houses. A very popular craft in Northern Pennsylvania. I forgot to say that I loved your idea of re-purposing something natural and creating something useful. Thank you for posting.