How to Grow Gourds at Home | FULL INFORMATION

In this video, we will learn how to grow lots of Bottle Gourd in containers. The Bottle Gourd is simple to grow at home. You can grow it in pots or containers on the terrace, starting from the Bottle Gourd seeds or seedlings. The harvesting season begins after 45 to 60 days of seed sowing, and it continues for about 6 to 8 weeks. Subscribe and press the bell icon on the YouTube app and never miss another update from Urban Gardening You will need a larger container to grow a few gourd plants. Usually a half barrel will work great. Make sure the pot size is at least 20 to 25 inches wide and 18 to 24 inches deep. But the bigger ones is better. Bottle gourd grows well in sandy loam soil. By adding organic manure you can make the soil rich. This will give you high quality vegetables. Make one inch deep holes in the soil mix and put one seed per hole. In a 25 to 30 inch diameter container we can easily plant four to five bottle gourd seeds. If you are planting multiple seeds space them six to ten inches apart so the vines have room to spread out. Now cover the seeds with the soil and pat it down firmly. Water the sown seed bed immediately by a light shower with a watering can. Whatever containers you use make sure they have I have small holes at the bottom to release any extra water. However, those small holes must be blocked with smaller stones to prevent the soil from draining away as well. Sowing seeds directly into the soil is the easiest option to grow gourds. You should plant them once the weather starts to warm up. These sprouts should emerge within 5 to 8 days. If you want quicker seed germination, soak the seeds overnight in water before sowing. Gods like plenty of moisture so make sure the soil is damp by adding water on a daily basis if required. Give your gods extra water when the weather is particularly dry or hot to maintain a high level of moisture in the soil. First leaves will emerge above cotyledons at the end of the second week. After every 8 to 10 days, dig up a layer of the soil to keep it soft. This will make soil porous and it will hold enough air and water to sustain healthy growth. Bottle gourds thrive in warm and bright spots since it helps them develop large leaves and vines. Find a place in your garden that gets sunlight for at least 5 to 7 hours to keep your plants healthy. Strong trellis support should be built for the climbers to grow. Many gardeners let the plants trail on the ground or allow them to climb on poles or or roof of the house. Bottle gourd is an aggressive climber and needs plenty of space to grow, so develop a strong trellis support by using locally available material like ropes, bamboo and wires for your bottle gourd plants. In the absence of adequate support, the plant may result in lower fruits. As the plants grow, you can wrap the tendrils around the rope or trellis and train them them to move forward. All gourds are heavy feeders. When the plant vines are 12 to 18 inches long, add 2 to 3 handfuls of cattle manure per plant. Fertilized plants not only bear more fruit, but they also produce larger and tastier fruit. Immediately water the soil so the fertilizer soaks in and get absorbed by the roots. As vines grow, bottom leaves will turn yellow and it is better to remove them from the plants. Removing the old leaves will let the plant focus its nutrients on healthy leaves. Your plants should start flowering within 25 to 35 days of planting. Bottle gourd produces white both male and female flowers. The female and male flowers look similar but the female flowers have a small fruit at the base of the petals. While bees and moths will naturally pollinate your plants, they may not do the best job with your bottle gourds. It is a good practice to hand pollinate gourds, pluck a fresh male flower, remove its petals so that the anther is visible. Anther is the part of the stamen where pollen is produced. Most gourd flowers open at night and usually last only one night. The best time for hand pollinating is just before dark when the flowers have already opened and there is still enough light to see what you are doing. Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male flower or the anther to the female part or stigma of the female flower. You can use a single male flower to pollinate two to three female flowers. But in case you have enough male flowers, use a single male flower for each female flower. Bottle gourd fruits grow very fast even when you grow them in pots. After pollination, they are ready to pick in approximately 12 to 15 days. Gourds, when quite small, turn yellow or rot at the end and eventually fall off. This may be due to imperfect pollination or fruit fly infestation. For insect infestation you can use yellow sticky trap it will give protection from all types of flying insects like fruit flies, white flies, aphids and thrips. It is non-toxic and weatherproof 100% safe for organic farming. Alum spray will smother the insects so it will be effective on fruit flies, aphids, thrips, mites and scales. Mix one tablespoon per one liter water. Mix well before use. Spray your plants, especially the young fruits with the alum mix, repeat after every 7 to 8 days. Avoid spraying the plants during the sunniest parts of the day since it could burn your plants. Fruit fly maggots feed on the internal tissues of the fruit, causing premature fruit drop and also yellowing and rotting of the affected fruits. Growing them vertically controls their growth, uses less valuable garden space and keeps the fruits clean. Usually, a plant can produce 3-5 gourds but if you plant more than one gourd in a container, it can be less productive. The plants can grow to over 15 feet so they need a solid support to climb by the tendrils or trellis along the stem. Gourds are also grown on the ground where their long vines will spread in all directions. A healthy bottle gourd plant needs water in a consistent manner so that the soil does not dry up Proper watering during the growing period encourages plant flower and fruit. If not watered well, the plant will have weak produce. You can pick your gourd about two to three days after the fruit has stopped growing. Cut the fruits from the vines carefully using a scissor or sharp knife, leaving three to four inches of stem attached. If you are harvesting edible gourds, they will need to be removed from the vine when they are still young. Leaving it too long on the plant makes it fibrous and then it cannot be consumed. The harvesting season begins after 45-60 days of seed sowing and it continues for about 6-8 weeks. Bottle gourd fruits grow very fast even when you grow them in pots. After pollination they are ready to pick in approximately 12-15 days. Harvest them at a young stage before the skin becomes thick otherwise the fruit will become inedible with lots of fiber. Each year you have to grow a new plant as it is an annual plant. The bottle gourd plant grows quite quickly, very vigorously and spread to long distances. All the gourds such as bottle, snake, ridge, bitter and ash can be grown in similar manner. Liquid seaweed fertilizer can be watered into the soil or sprayed onto the leaves. Add 10 to 15 ml per liter water, mix well and add 250 to 500 ml per plant.