Hard to know what you mean by "puckered" without a picture. My first thought was rot and if it is rot then you'd already know by now.

Rodney

Hi, Attached is a picture of the Gourds. You can see the puckers. I did wipe them off with a bleach and water solution, so they never rotted. I think when I moved them from one location to another the temperature change caused the puckering.. What do you think?

Look like it could be a weak spot, and probably not thick in those areas. I would say they will crack easily. The seeds would still be worth saving.

Thanks for your post. A weak spot makes sense. This is my first try ever so, I will probably just keep them and not make anything out of them anyway. Thanks for your help.

You can still use them for something. Sometimes if the gourds dry too fast, the puckering can happen. Maybe the other side of the gourd is thicker and could be used somehow. Its fun to grow gourds. Im used to grow many kinds, now Im trying Giant Gourds. Ive had many pucker and crack. Dont give up. Good Luck.

Thin skins - will cause this problem - they need at least 120 days of good growing season to develop thick hard skins - and then this will not be a problem for you - lovely shapes anyway and fun just to hang up around the place.
Cheers.

Kiwilad55, got a question. You mentioned 120 days of good growing...do you mean 120 days after the gourd is pollinated?

Hello there Steve.In answer to your question about my comment about growing time - from the time the seed germinates to the time the vine dies and the gourds can be harvested safely is approx. 120 days...Never be temped to pick your gourds early - even if you think they have finished growing - WAIT till the vine is COMPLETELY shrivelled up and dead dry before harvesting your gourds....the longer you leave them on the vine the better chance of having hard thick shells. The top of the gourd stem should be dead dry - not green at all - and when it is at that stage - then harvest - if you have frosts where u live you might need to harvest the gourds before the first frosts arrive. BUT try and leave your gourds on the vine for as long as possible to avoid the shells being thin and shrivelling. Cheers.