What are the methods for selecting seeds and raising seedlings of bottle gourds?

Bottle gourds have very many uses: they can be eaten and also made into curios, and they are a vegetable cultivated in many regions. As the weather warms up, people's farming activities will begin, and this is precisely the best time for bottle gourd seed selection and seedling raising. So how do you select bottle gourd seeds? What are the seedling raising methods? Below, the editor introduces them one by one.

How do you select bottle gourd seeds?

1. Variety

There are very many varieties of bottle gourd, and the varieties cultivated differ somewhat across regions of the country. Common varieties include ladle gourd, huatou huzi, goose-neck gourd, knot gourd, waist gourd, huatou huzi, ant gourd, hand-twisted gourd, santing gourd, and knot-tying gourd, among others, and the shapes of different bottle gourds differ somewhat.

2. Resistance

Due to temperature factors, seedlings with poor disease resistance and poor cold tolerance die in serious numbers. Seedlings sown at the same time have completely different survival rates due to varietal differences. Therefore, when choosing varieties, growers must select varieties with good disease resistance. Although superior varieties are relatively more expensive, the later returns are greater than those of inferior varieties.

3. Appearance

Choose one that fits the size of your hand. Among those of equal appearance, the heavier the better. Choose one whose vine tip (the "dragon head") is plump and firm, pointed and hard, and which does not bend easily when you try it with your hand. The skin should be yellow or brown; tap it lightly on a wooden table, and the sound should be a loud ka-ka sound - what you hear is the sound of thick skin. Do not choose ones whose vine tip is black, bitter, thin and shriveled, not plump, and whose skin is pale yellow-white and moist.

Such bottle gourds have not grown fully, that is, the fruit's growth period was short. Its skin shell is very light, and its seeds have not matured. If you do not believe it, you can cut it open and look at the seeds - they are all white empty shells. In contrast, a heavy, fully grown bottle gourd has seeds that are dark brown, plump and somewhat glossy.

What are the bottle gourd seedling raising methods?

1. Germination promotion

Bottle gourd seeds have a relatively thick seed coat and do not absorb water easily, so seeds should be soaked to promote germination before sowing. First soak the seeds at room temperature for 2-3 hours, then scald them in 55 warm water for 15 minutes, then soak them at 30 for 8-12 hours. Take them out and dry them, mix in clean sand of equal volume to the seeds and stir well, then wrap them in a wet cloth and place them at 25-30 to promote germination. Turn and rinse them once each morning and evening, and after 3-5 days, once the sprouts show, they can be sown.

2. Seedling raising

Bottle gourds have weak root regeneration ability, so they are generally sown directly in nutritional pots, with 1-2 seeds per pot, covered with 1-2 cm of nutritional soil. For seedling raising in electric-heated beds, electricity is switched on for heating, with the temperature controlled at around 25, and seedlings emerge in 3-4 days. When one third of the seeds have emerged, the soil temperature needs to be lowered to around 18, and ventilation should begin to prevent the seedlings from becoming leggy.

3. Light

Let the seedlings see as much light as possible to strengthen their photosynthesis and improve resistance. After the seedlings emerge uniformly, thin them once, removing diseased, weak and off-type seedlings, leaving 1 seedling per pot.

4. Watering

Watering during the seedling stage should be properly controlled: do not water if the bed soil is not dry. If watering, it should be done at noon on a sunny day, and after watering, ventilate to remove moisture.

5. Planting out

One week before planting out, gradually increase ventilation, extend the ventilation time, lower the temperature to harden the seedlings, and improve the stress resistance of the seedlings. Pests and diseases during the seedling raising period are similar to those of cucumber.

Bottle gourds are natural handicrafts, delicious vegetables, and medicinal remedies, combining many advantages in one, which is also why many people like bottle gourds. If you want to grow high-quality bottle gourds, then mastering seed selection methods and seedling raising techniques is very important.

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