Hi there. I recently hand pollinated. I had to wait though until I knew a female was going to open the following morning .... when theclosed blossom tip yellowed up.
I followed the pic tutorial here
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/gourds/msg0611545713356.html

Thanks! I will let you know how it goes.

Hi, Well, that female flower I saw fell off and that whole vine faded after that. So, no big Max this year. I do have two more hills though. One plant has two female flowers, so I am watching those like a hawk. I looked over the tutorial and will try that. I have two questions though. One, how do you know the male flower will have pollen. I stuck my finger in a male flower to try to get some pollen to come off and no luck. Is that why you tape it shut? Thanks,