When to Plant Bottle Gourd? Master the Best Sowing Time

When bottle gourd is grown in a greenhouse, it is suitable to sow in early to mid-January; in a plastic tunnel, early to mid-February; and for open-field cultivation, early to mid-March. For open-field autumn sowing, sow in early to mid-July; in a greenhouse, sow in early to mid-August. After sowing and raising seedlings, transplant at the right time, and water promptly to settle the roots.

Bottle Gourd Cultivation and Management:

1. Cultivating and Loosening the Soil

If no plastic mulch is used, loosen the soil 3-4 times before the vines are trained onto the trellis. Hoe shallowly near the roots and deeply farther from the roots.

2. Setting Up the Trellis

Use 3-meter-long bamboo poles to build an A-frame trellis, crossing at 1.3 m, with 2-3 horizontal bars made of small bamboo poles. For bottle gourd grown in a facility greenhouse, the trellis height inside the greenhouse should be such that it does not pierce the greenhouse film.

3. Pinching and Training the Vines

Early-maturing trellised bottle gourd may not need pinching. Ground-running bottle gourd should be pinched 2-3 times and requires vine pressing. Late-maturing bottle gourd is best grown on a flat trellis; after the vines reach the trellis, keep 6-8 leaves on the main vine and pinch both the main vine and the side vines.

4. Water and Fertilizer

At transplanting, water thoroughly to settle the roots, and water once more after the seedlings revive. Before the flowering and fruiting stage, apply decomposed manure, organic fertilizer or compound fertilizer as a top dressing about every 5 days; during the fruiting stage, apply manure or compound fertilizer as a top dressing every 10-15 days, while paying attention to controlling water and fertilizer concentration to prevent fruit abortion; after the fruiting stage, water promptly, preferably in the morning or evening. Every 10 days, spray the leaves once with 0.5% urea plus 0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution. After each harvest of gourds, apply a top dressing once. During the rainy season, pay attention to drainage. In greenhouse cultivation, pay attention to ventilation and air exchange, keeping warm and reducing humidity.

5. Pest and Disease Control

Use high-temperature solar exposure of seeds, hot-water treatment of seeds, and dry-heat treatment for sterilization and disinfection; freeze the soil in winter to kill insect eggs, use plastic mulch to kill insects and sterilize, and close the greenhouse at high temperature to kill insects and sterilize.

Bottle gourd gradually matures and is harvested for market in early August. Friends who enjoy eating it should not miss out.