Gourd Rack GR8 Combinations
 If you want to get purple martins
Here is an entry-level gourd rack with state-of-the-art features. The GR8 system is made with quality materials, it's gentle on the budget. It's also easy and fun to assemble. It is 14 feet tall and comes with arm braces and gourd-mounting arms. The top perches are 48" long.
This is the way to invite purple martins to your propety.
You can order a complete rack system with 8 SuperGourds included:
- with round holes (GR8-SGR)
- with round holes and porches (GR8-SGRP)
- with crescent holes (GR8-SGC)
- with crescent holes and porches (GR8-SGCP)
Or you can order just the standalone rack, with no gourds (GR8H)
This is the way to invite purple martins to your propety.
The Pole and Gourd Rack
Includes:
- Two-inch-square, high-tensile strength
aluminum, two-piece pole, along with 48" ground stake, plastic pole cap, and two 48"
top perches
- Ground hub, with pre-installed nylon glide buttons in the hub, to assure squeak-free operation
- Eight aluminum arms, which accommodate up to 8 gourds and which attach to the hub using stainless steel hardware and included hitch pins
- Four-part rope-&-pulley rope system
- Rope winder with attached stainless steel hardware
- Polyester rope with attached eyebolts and pulleys
- All the hardware necessary for installing the rack (concrete mix not included)
The SuperGourds
SuperGourds are 10" plastic gourds, designed and developed by James R. Hill, III, Founder and Executive Director Emeritus of the Purple Martin
Conservation Association.
SuperGourds are better for purple martins than are commercial aluminum martin houses. Research shows that SuperGourds fledge 1.2 more nestlings per nesting attempt than ordinary martin houses.
Accessible — A SuperGourd is a one-piece plastic gourd with a molded-in, threaded access port, covered by a screw-on cap. The access port is large enough to admit a human hand that is holding a nestling or a handful of nesting material. The cap's liner renders it and the access port totally watertight and opaque. Landlords merely twist off the cap for nest checks, banding, nest replacements, or end-of-season clean outs. The access port's high, 45-degree viewing angle allows easy viewing of nest contents during recommended weekly nest checks.
Innovative Design — The SuperGourd also features a large, molded-in rain canopy that doubles as a perching platform. A series of molded-in corduroy-like ribs on top of the canopy and a textured pattern in the plastic permit martins to perch comfortably, without slipping. The SuperGourd weighs 31 ounces, slightly heavier than a natural gourd its size, so it swings less in the wind. The one-piece body has no seams, so no rain will leak in, and seven 5/16" drain holes provide a rapid exit for any rain that may blow in through the entrance hole.
Durable — SuperGourds are blow-molded in white (sun-reflecting), opaque, high-density polyethylene plastic. They won't rot, peel, split, or crack out in the elements, and won't break if accidentally dropped like natural gourds can. Because they are molded with ultraviolet inhibitors
added to the plastic, they have a long life expectancy with virtually no maintenance other than giving a quick scrub at the end of the season.
Easy to Hang — SuperGourds can easily be hung underneath an existing martin house, from a gourd rack, or strung on a line between two poles. One set of 1/4" hanging holes (side-to-side) are pre-drilled and will accept a hanging wire; a set of front-to-back holes
can easily be drilled by the purchaser if so desired. The hanging holes are enlarged to 13/32" when ordered with the Deluxe Gourd Rack so the gourds can slide directly onto the steel arm.
Designed to Benefit Purple Martins — Landlords that use gourds know that they are highly attractive to martins (but are the least attractive of all martin housing to House Sparrows or starlings), reduce the risk of owl predation, have high occupancy rates, plus reduce the incidence
of fallouts and premature fledging. Now, busy landlords can offer their martins all the advantages of properly-prepared gourds, without investing the time and effort required to grow natural gourds, adding access doors and canopies, or repainting them every year or so.
Landlord Friendly — SuperGourds are ready to hang right out of the box — there's no assembly required. A landlord only needs hanging wire unless using the Deluxe Gourd Rack. SuperGourds are low-to-no maintenance martin housing; no sanding or painting, and nothing to add except stick-on numbers. Everything a person needs to be a better landlord is already there.
Balance the cost of a SuperGourd against the years of low-maintenance use you'll get and all the advantages for the martins. Then compare the occupancy rate and cost to other types of housing that have, at best, 50% occupancy, and may require annual repainting.
 Options
The GR8 Gourd Rack 8 is available with round-holed SuperGourds, as shown in the photo above, or with crescent-holed SuperGourds for greater resistance to starlings, as shown at right.
If you get the SuperGourds with the crescent holes, it's strongly recommended that you also get "SuperGourd Porches," which allow purple martins easier entry through the snug entrance, while making it hard for the slightly larger, fatter starlings.
All SuperGourds sold as part of a Gourd Rack System come with a set of 27/64" hanging holes drilled front to back (as in these photos). Complete assembly and mounting instructions included.
See all GR8 combinations and pricing
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