Detailed Explanation of Bottle Gourd Planting Methods and Technical Points
The bottle gourd is a climbing vine in the Cucurbitaceae family. Many friends assume the bottle gourd can only be used as a container. In fact, before the fruit fully matures, it can be eaten as a vegetable, and the bottle gourd also has medicinal value such as stopping diarrhea, inducing vomiting, and reducing swelling by promoting diuresis. It is a crop with good planting returns, so how should bottle gourd be planted? Below, the editor brings you the bottle gourd planting methods. Let's take a look!
1. Land selection and soil preparation
The first task in planting bottle gourd is choosing the planting site. The 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 must not be continuously cropped with melons such as watermelon, and it also must not be planted in soil with residual herbicides. After selecting the land, carry out soil preparation. Soil preparation is essential because plowing, turning, and disinfecting the soil can eliminate pathogens in the soil and promote the growth of bottle gourd. Then press and compact the soil to preserve moisture. While preparing the soil, also make long ridges, which is beneficial for later weed control.
2. Seed soaking and sprouting
After soil preparation, select superior seeds and soak the seeds in 45-degree warm water for about one day. After soaking, take them out, wrap them in gauze, and open up the soaked seeds. Then prepare a sprouting shed, put disinfected sawdust in a basin, and lay a layer of separation cloth. Place the seeds evenly in the basin, and cover the seeds with a dry towel and a cotton quilt for insulation and sprouting. 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 raising seedlings
During the sprouting process, prepare a seedling bed. Spread an appropriate amount of farmyard manure and grass material on the bottom of the seedling bed, then spread soil over the fertilizer and tread it firmly. Then use agents such as dexon for disinfection, mix nutrient soil well, put the nutrient soil into bags, fill them tightly, and poke holes at the bottom for drainage. Place them on the seedling bed and water thoroughly, then sow the sprouted seeds with the sprout eyes facing the soil, cover with soil, and water. Finally, wait for the seeds to germinate. After emergence, transplant appropriately according to the growth of the seedlings.
4. Field management
After transplanting, the work to do well is field management. When applying 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 plants. Keep 1-2 main vines per vine, carry out directional earthing up once, and slant them in the downwind direction to prevent the vines from being overturned by strong wind. Observe the growth of the plants and do well in tasks such as pinching off the tips, pinching out the growing point, and artificial pollination 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 fully matures. Usually around early August, the specific harvest time is 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.