How to Grow Bottle Gourd? A Complete Guide to Planting Methods and Techniques

The bottle gourd's fruit tastes light and sweet, with a soft texture, and is suitable for all ages. Many growers cultivate it in large quantities. How do you grow bottle gourd?

How to Grow Bottle Gourd

1. The planting land for bottle gourd requires loose, fertile soil with a certain capacity to retain water and fertilizer.

2. Plow once before preparing the land, applying about 5,000 kg of farmyard manure and 50 kg of NPK compound fertilizer per mu. After a shallow plowing, prepare the beds, with a bed width of 1.0 m and a ditch width of 0.3 m. At the same time, open waist ditches and perimeter ditches to facilitate drainage.

3. Sowing is generally carried out from May to June. The seed coat of bottle gourd seeds is thick and not easily penetrated by water. Before sowing, pre-sprout the seeds. Before sowing, soak the seeds in 55°C warm water for 15 minutes, then place them under a constant temperature of 25-30°C to promote sprouting. Once the sprouts have emerged uniformly, sow them into nutrient pots. During the seedling stage, keep them warm and protected from cold, provide ventilation and light, and keep the soil moisture appropriate.

4. The seeding rate per mu of field is 300-400 grams. After sowing, lightly press the bed surface with a flat board, then cover with nutrient soil and water thoroughly. In summer, when temperatures are high and the climate is dry, good moisture retention measures must be taken, and a double layer of shade netting should be used to cover the bed surface.

5. When raising seedlings, avoid excessive nitrogen fertilizer and ensure sufficient light. If the climate is dry, water in the morning and evening to keep the seedbed moist, which helps with seedling emergence.

6. When bottle gourd seedlings reach 2-4 cotyledons, transplant them carefully. Plant about 2,300 plants per mu, with a row spacing of 40-70 cm. Before transplanting, water the seedbed thoroughly to prevent root damage when removing the seedlings, which would slow their recovery, affect plant growth, and thereby affect early yields. At the same time, remove weeds and insects. Carry this out on cloudy days or on sunny afternoons.

7. Bottle gourd generally uses a herringbone trellis; after the vines begin to run, set up the trellis, with 2-3 horizontal crossbars in the center. When the main vine reaches about 50 cm, pinch it back for the first time to promote the growth and development of side vines. On the side vines, select and keep one strong female flower, and pinch back 1-2 leaves above the female flower. However, keep the growing tip of the topmost side vine to replace the main vine's growth. After that, pinch back the newly grown secondary vines in the same way as before.

8. Bottle gourd has a high water consumption and a high fertilizer requirement. In addition to applying sufficient base fertilizer, apply dilute farmyard manure 1-2 times in the early growth stage, and apply a vine-branching fertilizer once after pinching back. In the later stage, growth vigor is strong and fruit set is high, so water promptly. Especially during high temperature and drought, irrigate at least once a week during the harvest period. For every 1-2 batches of gourds harvested, apply a top dressing once, applying 15-20 kg of compound fertilizer and 5 kg of urea per mu to prevent premature aging and increase later yields.

The above are the simple cultivation methods for bottle gourd. We hope they provide some reference for everyone.