PlantFiles: Ornamental Gourd, Field Pumpkin
Cucurbita pepo var. ovifera 'Nest Egg'

i grew 40 of these last year ,all in pots .. i had serveral as big as golf balls! i even had a few turn a light blue and the rest were yellow and light green.if some one had a green house and had these blooming at easter then i suppose you could sell them..no one ive ever shown these plants to had ever seen any thing like it.this year we are starting them in the ground and i will probly have 2 to 300 of them.. they were easy to grow but needed watering very very often{2or3 times a day}A beautiful white bloom comes first then the bloom turns purple then the egg forms.they start to die around the end of sept.{ here in ky} first of oct. i kept the eggs in a plastic bowl in the freg. all winter. the ones i didnt do that way rotted in a month..i got alot of enjoyment out of these little fellows..and a lot of oooh and ahhh's out of them too.

Nest Egg Gourds are among a group of small, hard-shelled members of the pumpkin family. The fruit is cream white and the size of a hens egg (thus the name). In the past, this dried gourd has been used to fool laying hens, as well as serving as a darning egg. Today they are frequently used in crafts to make ornaments.

Seeds can be sown outdoors in warm climates, 6 per hill, 1" deep. Germination takes 8 to 10 days. Later thin to three per hill. In marginally warm climates, seeds can be sown indoors for transplant after last frost. Days to maturity: 110-130.