A Detailed Guide to the Latest Planting Methods and Key Techniques for Bottle Gourds
The bottle gourd is a climbing vine of the Cucurbitaceae family. Many friends think the bottle gourd can only be used as a container. In fact, before the bottle gourd is fully ripe, its fruit can be eaten as a vegetable, and the bottle gourd also has medicinal value such as stopping diarrhea, inducing vomiting, promoting urination and reducing swelling. It is a crop with good planting returns, so how should bottle gourds be planted? Below, the editor brings you the planting methods for bottle gourds. Let's take a look!
1. Site Selection and Land Preparation
The first task in planting bottle gourds is to choose the planting site. The planting site must have good drainage and irrigation, sufficient fertility, and must not be planted on hillsides or in low-lying areas. The previous crop should preferably be grain crops such as wheat and corn. It cannot be continuously cropped with melons such as watermelon, and it also cannot be planted if residual herbicides remain in the soil. After choosing the site, carry out land preparation. Land preparation is essential work, because plowing, turning and disinfecting the soil can eliminate pathogens in the soil and promote the growth of bottle gourds. Then press the soil to preserve moisture. While preparing the land, make long ridges, which is beneficial for later weeding work.
2. Seed Soaking and Germination
After land preparation, select superior seeds and soak the seeds in 45-degree warm water for about one day. After soaking, take them out and wrap them in gauze, then open the soaked seeds. Then prepare a germination shed, put disinfected sawdust in a basin, and lay a layer of isolation cloth. Place the seeds evenly in the basin, and cover the seeds with a dry towel and a cotton quilt to keep warm and promote germination. A small amount of water needs to be dripped in every day. Pay attention to the amount to prevent water accumulation inside the seeds, and keep the temperature at around 26 degrees. The temperature must not exceed 25-32 degrees.
3. Sowing and Seedling Cultivation
During germination, prepare the seedling bed. Spread an appropriate amount of farmyard manure and grass material on the bottom of the seedling bed, then spread soil on top of the fertilizer and tread it firm. Then use chemicals such as dexon for disinfection, mix the nutrient soil well, put the nutrient soil into bags, fill them tightly, and poke holes at the bottom for water drainage. Place them on the seedling bed and water thoroughly, then sow the germinated seeds with the sprout eye facing the soil, cover with soil and water. Finally, wait for the seeds to sprout. After the seedlings emerge, transplant appropriately according to the growth of the seedlings.
⟦NL>4. Field Management
After transplanting, the work to be done well is field management. When topdressing, it should be combined with intertillage and weeding. Also, when the main vine of the bottle gourd grows to about 0.5 m, do it together with watering. Urea can be used as fertilizer. When topdressing, pay attention to the topdressing position to prevent the roots and leaves from directly contacting the fertilizer, which can cause root and leaf burn. Control the growth of the plant. Keep 1-2 main vines per vine, carry out one directional earthing up, and tilt it in the downwind direction to prevent the vines from being overturned by too strong wind. Observe the growth of the plant and do a good job in pinching tips, topping, artificial pollination and other work to promote plant growth.
The above is the editor's brief introduction to bottle gourd planting methods. We should harvest at the appropriate time according to our own planting purpose. If the main purpose is for eating, then picking should begin before the fruit is fully ripe. Usually around early August, the specific harvest time should be decided according to the actual situation. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you all for reading and supporting.