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

Bottle gourd is a home-style vegetable we relatively enjoy eating; its flesh is sweet and tender and can be paired with many ingredients. How do you grow delicious bottle gourd?

How to grow bottle gourd

1. Choose high-quality commercial varieties with strong adaptability, good disease resistance, long fruit, thin skin and tolerance to high temperatures.

2. The planting site should have flat terrain, good light conditions, easy drainage and irrigation, convenient transportation, and a relatively large contiguous area. The soil should be rich in humus, with a thick and loose soil layer and strong fertilizer and water retention.

3. Plow once before preparing the land, applying about 5000 kg of farmyard manure and 50 kg of ternary compound fertilizer per mu. After one shallow plowing, make 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.

4. Sowing is generally carried out from May to June. Bottle gourd seeds have a thick seed coat and do not readily absorb water. Before sowing, pre-sprout the seeds. Soak them in warm water at 65°C, or disinfect them with potassium permanganate at a concentration of 0.001 for 10-15 minutes, then soak for 8 hours.

5. The seeding rate is 300-400 g per mu of field. 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 should be taken, and a double layer of shade netting should be used to cover the bed surface.

6. 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 emergence.

7. When bottle gourd seedlings reach 2-4 cotyledons, transplant them. Plant about 2300 plants per mu, with a row spacing of 40-70 cm. Before transplanting, water the seedbed thoroughly to prevent root damage when removing seedlings, which can slow recovery, affect plant growth and thus affect early yield. At the same time, remove weeds and insects. Carry this out on a cloudy day or on a sunny afternoon.

8. Bottle gourd generally uses a herringbone trellis; set up the trellis after vines begin to run, with 2-3 horizontal bars in the middle. When the main vine grows to about 50 cm, pinch out the growing tip for the first time to promote the growth and development of side vines. On the secondary vines, select and keep one strong female flower, and pinch out the growing tip leaving 1-2 leaves above the female flower. However, keep the growing tip of the topmost secondary vine to replace the main vine's growth. After that, pinch out the growing tips of the tertiary vines that emerge in the same way as before.

9. 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-promoting fertilizer once after pinching. In the later stage, growth vigor is strong and fruit set is abundant, 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 yield.

Bottle gourd requires high yield, so scientific water and fertilizer supply must be well managed, but it must not be excessive. Friends who need it can ask experienced people for more advice.