Lagenaria siceraria seed

LATIN NAME: Lagenaria siceraria

COMMON NAME: Bottle Gourd

The bottle gourd is one of the oldest of the cultivated plants, dried and hollowed for the water jugs and the bowls. The vigorous, fast-growing, trailing vine carries the large, heart-shaped, softly hairy leaves, and the fine, white flowers open through the warm season, opening at night, to be followed by the long, narrow, green fruits that dry to the hard, woody shells of the old water vessels. The young fruits are eaten as a fine, mild vegetable in the warm regions. It is a fine, easy, generous vine of the warm, sunny garden and the trellis. It is a plant of the deep, rich, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The bottle gourd has carved a quiet but solid place in the plant science, and the vine has been studied for the long, narrow fruits and their very long record among the cultivated plants of the old world. Researchers have looked at the way the dried shells served the old households as the water vessels and the bowls, and the vine keeps showing up in the work on the ancient crops and the uses of the gourds. The large, heart-shaped leaves and the night-opening, white flowers have also made it a fine garden vine, and it is a regular subject of the studies of the cucurbits and the old material culture.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The bottle gourd does a lot of work in the garden and the old households. The young fruits are a fine, mild vegetable of the warm regions, and the dried, hollowed shells served the old households as the water jugs, the bowls, the ladles and the musical instruments. The vigorous, fast-growing vine is also a fine, generous, easy cover for the trellis and the fence, and the fine, white, night-opening flowers add their own quiet charm. It has drawn attention in the international agricultural and the cultural press for the ancient record and the many uses, and it is a fine, easy vine of the warm, sunny, well-drained garden.

The bottle gourd is one of the most useful of the old cultivated plants, and the long, narrow, green fruits dry to the hard, woody shells of the old water vessels and the bowls. The fine, white flowers open at night, and the vigorous, trailing vine is one of the fastest and the easiest of the garden climbers.

To grow the bottle gourd from seed, sow the large seeds at a depth of about two centimetres in pots of moist, free-draining soil, planting one seed to each pot, keep them in a warm, bright, open spot and water gently. The seedlings come up within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. Give them the sun, the trellis and the deep, rich, well-drained ground, and the long, green fruits will be ready through the season.

Germinating

– Sow in a rich, well-drained location in full sun after all danger of frost. Do not plant squash family crops in the same spot 2 years in a row.

– Prepare the bed by turning the soil under to a depth of 8 inches. Level with a rake to remove clumps of grass and stones.

– Sow 6-8 seeds 3 inches apart in hills 8 feet apart.

– Cover seeds with a ½ inch of fine soil.

– Firm lightly and keep evenly moist.

– Seeds emerge in 7-14 days.

– Thin seedlings to 3-4 per hill when they are 1-2 inches high.
Growing

– Keep weeds under control during the growing season. Weeds compete with plants for water, space and nutrients, so control them by either cultivating often or use a mulch to prevent their seeds from germinating. Avoid disturbing the soil around the plants when weeding.

– Keep plants well watered during dry periods to promote rapid, uninterrupted growth. Plants need about 1 inch of rain per week during the growing season. Use a rain gauge to check to see if you need to add water. It’s best to water with a drip or trickle system that delivers water at low pressure at the soil level. If you water with overhead sprinklers, water early in the day so the foliage has time to dry off before evening, to minimize disease problems. Keep the soil moist but not saturated.

– Gourds grow well on trellises or supports, keeping the fruits off the ground.

– Monitor for pests and diseases. Check with your local Cooperative Extension Service for pest controls recommended for your area.