What are the other names for pumpkin vines, and how do you grow them for high yield?

Pumpkin is a very familiar vegetable, and the pumpkin vine is actually a healthy food that can be eaten too. Pumpkin vines have a very distinctive taste and are rich in crude fiber and carotene, so eating them regularly is good for the human body. However, pumpkin vines are not available all year round; to taste this delicious food you need to do so during the season when pumpkins are flowering and growing. Let's take a look below at what other names pumpkin vines have and how to grow them for high yield.

1. What are the other names for pumpkin vines?

Pumpkin vine is also called fangua vine or panchang grass, and it is the stem of the pumpkin, a plant in the Cucurbitaceae family. Pumpkin vines are generally abundant in summer and autumn, and they are very commonly grown and eaten in our country, and are also deeply loved by consumers. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that pumpkin vine is sweet and bitter in taste, slightly cold in nature, and non-toxic. It enters the liver and spleen meridians. It clears the lungs, harmonizes the stomach, and unblocks the collaterals. It treats low fever from pulmonary tuberculosis, stomach pain, irregular menstruation, and scalds. It also has a certain therapeutic effect on urinary stones, internal heat from consumptive disease, high blood pressure, and quitting smoking.

Common ways to prepare pumpkin vines include stir-frying and making soup, but people in the south prefer stir-frying, adding a few slices of garlic or a little chopped chili, which makes it very refreshing to eat. Pumpkin vines picked especially after rain are very fresh and look very appetizing, bright green. If you do not like stir-frying, you can also add auxiliary ingredients such as preserved duck eggs or ham and boil it, just as amaranth is cooked with preserved duck eggs; it tastes very fresh.

2. How do you grow pumpkin vines for high yield?

1. Pinch off the growing tips at the right time

When the pumpkin vine has grown to about two meters, you can carry out the pinching work, removing the growing point of the main vine so that it branches more and is encouraged to flower and bear fruit.

2. Build a trellis

When the pumpkin vine has grown to about three meters, you need to build a trellis to guide the vines up onto it. This is because the pumpkins that grow are very heavy, and without support it is hard to bear their weight. In addition, building a trellis can also reduce the occurrence of pumpkin rot and improve the fruiting rate and fruit quality.

3. Topdressing

During the period of vigorous pumpkin growth, extra topdressing is needed, as this can improve fruit quality. However, it is not recommended to fertilize directly; instead, spray foliar fertilizer. You can also pour organic water-soluble fertilizer at the roots, which can promote the growth of pumpkin vines and allow you to harvest more pumpkin vines.

4. Remove yellow leaves

If yellow leaves appear on pumpkin vines that have already flowered and set fruit, remove them promptly when you see them, so that the waste of nutrients can be reduced, concentrated on good branches and vines for growth, promoting fruit set and improving pumpkin quality.

5. Points to note

Remember one thing: if you want to grow more pumpkin vines, that is not conducive to pumpkin fruit set. You need to look at your purpose in growing them, whether it is to grow more pumpkins or more pumpkin vines. If you want a high yield of pumpkin fruit, you need to prevent the vines from growing excessively, appropriately control the use of nitrogen fertilizer, and increase phosphorus and potassium fertilizer.