Gourds belong to the Cucurbitaceae family and are annual creeping herbaceous plants. Gourds are also called gourds. The young melons are edible, and the ripe and dried shells are used as containers and are also used for medicinal purposes. In ancient times, people dried gourds in the sun and hollowed them out to make objects for holding things.

Gourds are generally sown and raised from late February to mid-March, and the sowing time is early April.

1. Seed collection

Select the second melon from a robust plant with the characteristics of a gourd as a seed melon. Harvest the melon when it is hard and the skin is yellowish brown, and place it in a ventilated place. Dry and dissect the seeds before sowing.

2. Seed treatment

The seed coat of gourd seeds is thick and not easy to penetrate water. Therefore, soak them in warm water overnight before sowing, and then place the soaked seeds evenly on the On moist gauze, cover it with a wrung-out towel, and cover it with a quilt for germination. The germination temperature is generally 25-28°C. After the seeds are germinated and broken, they can be sown. The seed amount per acre is 0.25 kilograms.

3. Cultivation of seedlings

Fill the hotbed filled with fertilized material with bed soil mixed with fertilizer, level the surface and sow seeds, cover with 1.5 cm of soil, and water thoroughly. Then cover with film to promote early germination and emergence of seeds.

4. Seedbed management

If it is sunny after sowing, seedlings can emerge in 3-4 days. When two-thirds of the seeds are in the soil, immediately lower the temperature to prevent the seedlings from growing. They grow leggy to form tall seedlings. Seedbed management benefits: Pay attention to preventing the bed soil from soaking the roots of the seedlings due to low temperature and humidity. Prevent the seedlings from growing too long due to excessive temperature in the bed. Pay attention to protection against cold and frost. For seedlings raised in nutrient pots, the seedlings can be planted 30-40 days after sowing when they have 3-4 true leaves.

5. Land preparation and fertilization

Apply about 2,000 kilograms of decomposed farmyard manure and 10 kilograms of superphosphate per acre of land for gourd planting as base fertilizer. Made into

The ridge width is 90-130 cm. Plant on one side of the ridge with a spacing of 50-70 cm, plant two plants per nest, or sow 3-4 seeds per nest and cover the seeds with cow dung.

6. Build a frame for gourds to climb and produce melons

You can use wood, bamboo, etc. to set up a frame to attract the vines or directly lead the gourds to the branches. Gourd melons are highly branched, and side vines can sprout from each node. In the early stage, care should be taken to manage the vines so that the vines are evenly distributed on the shelf to avoid the vines becoming entangled together, which affects ventilation and light transmission. Generally the height is about 2 meters.

7. Pruning and topping

Gourd melons mainly produce melons from sub-vines and sun-vines. Plants need to be adjusted during cultivation. Generally, topping is done 2-3 times to promote early growth of sub-vines. and Sunman, which can produce melons earlier and increase yields. Generally, the main vines are topping when they have 5-6 leaves. When the side vines bear fruit, the second topping is performed to promote the second side vines to sprout and form melons.

8. Fertilizer and water management

Apply seedling fertilizer once after the gourds are successfully established, apply vine fertilizer once after topping, and apply fruit fertilizer once during the period of rapid growth of gourds. Topdress 100-250 grams of urea per plant. Do not topdress too close to the main root to prevent root burning.