Ash Gourd Seeds

Ash Gourd is highly nutritive and loaded with Vitamins A and C. It helps in fighting and preventing various ailments. By consuming Ash Gourd, you could fulfil the calcium, phosphorus, iron and fibre requirements of your body.
Botanical Name: Benincasa hispida
Sowing Season: Throughout the year. Best grown in monsoon.
Sowing method: Seeds are sown directly in raised beds or containers.
Growing container: Use big circular pots or grow bag with 16” diameter and minimum depth of 8-10 inches.
Growing medium: 2 part garden Soil & 1 part any Organic Manure or 1 part garden soil, 1 part Coco Peat & 1 part Vermicompost.

• Take a container of your choice with drainage holes at the bottom.
• Fill the container with proper potting layers & selected growing medium.
• Sow 2 seeds at the centre of a pot.

Spacing:

• On raised beds, sow two seeds per spot in a spacing of 3 x 3 ft.
• Push the seeds a little in soil medium with your fingers & completely cover them with surrounding soil.
• Water the sown seed bed immediately by a light shower with a watering can.

Sprouting Stage: Seeds will germinate within first 6-8 days or so & tiny sprouts will be visible.
Cotyledons: The first two leaves will emerge in the second week of germination. These are false leaves called as cotyledons.
First leaves: First leaves will emerge above cotyledons at the end of the second week.
Seedling stage: Second week onwards, seedlings will start growing into a small plant.
Thinning: After the second week, keep only single seedling at one spot, Cut off the weak, small & lagging seedlings with a pair of scissors.

Sunlight: Ash Gourd plants require full sunlight. Therefore your raised bed should be made at a bright sunny spot. Keep the Ash Gourd container under open sunlight.
Watering technique: Water your potted Ash Gourd plant every day in summer. Water the soil near the plant. Use a watering can to make sure that the plants get water in the form of the shower & not by a single flow. You can also make provision for watering by drip irrigation system for your raised beds.
Trellis: Ash gourd is an aggressive climber & needs plenty of space to grow. So develop a strong trellis support up to height of 5-6 ft, by using locally available material like pipes, bamboo, ropes, wires etc. for your Ash gourd plant.
Manuring: As mentioned earlier, add good quality organic manure in the soil with 2:1 ratio before sowing seeds. Organic manure can be well rotten cow dung manure, farmyard manure, Compost or Vermicompost.
Top Dressing: When your Ash gourd climber is more than 45 days old, Provide one tablespoon of 15:15:15 (NPK) 
Fertilizer per plant or mix handful of Vermicompost in the soil around each plant.
Plant care: Always look for the early signs of any insect/fungal/ any other infections. Spray appropriate medicines as soon as any symptoms of such diseases are spotted. Watch out for Powdery Mildew when plants are young.
Hand pollination of flowers: Take ‘pollens’ from male flowers on painting brush or cotton bud & dust them on ‘stigma’ of female flowers. This will increase overall production of Ash Gourd. This step is not mandatory.
Note: Ash Gourds have separate Male & female flowers on same plant. Fruits will be formed on female flower after pollination.
Harvesting: (90 to 100 days from sowing.) Ash gourd climber will start flowering at the end of 3rd month. You can start harvesting ripe Ash gourd fruits after 3 months of seed sowing. Harvesting season can continue for next 3 months.