This year i thought of growing summer veggies like different types of gourds,cucumbers etc.I am terrible when it comes to growing them,but this year the climate and gardening gods were on my side,and i finally was successful in growing Bottle Gourd/Oppo Squash in a pot on my terrace garden.But things did not start off on a good note !! Here's my journey on how i grew my bottle gourd/Oppo Squash.
'
My gardening friend Vedashree,had shared a few round bottle gourd seeds with me last year in April, i sowed those directly in a pot which had a potting mix of red garden soil and compost.Days passed by as i waited patiently but no signs of germination,it was way past 15 days since I sowed the gourd seeds,each day i would dig up the seeds, 4 to be precise look at them and stick them back in the soil, i finally gave up thinking that the seeds were not viable and sowed new seeds this time a long variety in the same pot,all the seeds germinated beautifully, they reached first true leaf stage and one fine day, all the saplings wilted i guess due to root rot and over watering on my behalf !!
After about 5 days, two new saplings emerged from the same pot, i was happy to see that not all was lost after all, out of these two saplings then again one died,not wanting to lose my sole single gourd sapling, i thought of transplanting it into my curry leaf pot,my curry leaf pot is my lucky pot i managed to grow madras cucumbers and tomatoes in it.So i transplanted the tiny baby gourd sapling into the curry leaf pot and much to my surprise it started to take off happily ☺
Once it put out two true leaves,i mulched the top layer of the soil with old dry leaves,and then sprinkle some Neem cake over it followed by some more soil and compost,to cover the neem cake.
Twice a month i pour some diluted buttermilk for my curry leaf plant,i guess the bottle gourd seemed to like it too,it started growing vigorously and put out new leaves,the leaves of bottle gourd/oppo squash are very soft and smooth just like velvet ☺
I placed the pot in a spot that receives only morning sun for 2 to 3 hrs,and then gets shade for the rest of the day, since summers were at peak,i watered the plant twice a day, before sunrise and after sunset,to avoid sunburn and other issues.
The leaves grew bigger in size ,without any disease or pest problems, which was a big relief for me :)
After growing a set of 10 to 12 leaves the vines started to form tendrils,and was ready to take off.
Within a months time of transplanting the Bottle gourd/Oppo Squash Vine, i spotted the first male flower.After 10 days or so the first female flower arrived on the vine.
I did not give the Bottle Gourd/Oppo squash vine any support or trellis, i just let it do its thing and left it to grow and spread naturally.Its tendrils latched on to the curry leaf plant for support and grew upwards.
I was so happy with the growth of my Bottle gourd/oppo squash vine.As the plant was now using its energy to produce flowers, i fertilized it with some composted cow manure and week solution of vermiwash.
A week later, the first female flower appeared,its easy to tell the difference between a male and female flower,the male flower is plain at the bottom,whereas the female flower has a small ovary or mini gourd attached to the flower below.
Bottle Gourd/Oppo Squash flowers bloom late in the evening after sunset,since i did not have any bees visiting the garden during this time of the year,i decided to hand pollinate the flowers, to increase the chances of me getting a gourd.
To Hand pollinate the female gourd flowers,simply take a male gourd flower and strip of the petals to expose the stamen,now gently touch the stamen,onto the stigma of the female flower,ensuring that it touches the surface all round the middle of the female flower,same procedure can be done using a fine bristled paint brush or q tip.
I then placed the stamen in the center of the female flower and tie it with a piece of thread, as shown in the picture above.
If you the pollination is successful, the ovary or mini gourd attached to the female flower will bend downwards and begin to enlarge and grow into a gourd,in case the pollination is not successful the flower will drop off.It can take upto 2 weeks for the gourd to grow into full size and be ready for harvest.Its important to retain moisture at all times for proper growth of the gourd.
Out of three hand pollinated female gourds ,I managed to get one decent sized bottle gourd,the rest never grew in size and fell off the vines.Summers got harsher, they were hot dry winds that blew in the afternoons,i knew there was no scope for any more gourds,but i was happy with the one single gourd that i managed to get.
As the saying goes, its not the size of the harvest that matters, what really matters is the success !!!
so friends until next time, its Happy Gardening to you all ☺
