I remember this last year - this one looks slightly different, but as said before, gourds and squash don't necessarily come true, so any seeds already present in the ground which germinate can produce various types of fruit - each one is unknown until it appears.

Nice looking gourd!

Yes, I'm pleased with it. I find it a very attractive object. On the Internet I have found many ways of preserving gourds, but I've so far had no success. It's had plenty of time to dry the surface so can I simply varnish it or do I need to do something else first? Is there a preferred type of varnish for best results? Maybe it will eventually rot anyway!

I think you need to put some needle holes in it so the moisture inside can escape, or it will rot. I have varnished some in the past and used some I got at the store for boats.

Sounds interesting. Not found any reference to needle holes before, but it seems quite logical. How big a needle would you suggest, and how deep and how many holes? How long did your varnished ones last? Presumably one would need to leave it for a while after making the holes, to give the moisture enough time to escape: I wonder how long that would take?

I used the smallest drill bit I had and put 3 holes in the bottom. Then let it dry until the seeds rattled. The problem was that it became another dust catcher, and after a year it went into the fire.