How to plant Buddha's hand melon: Key points of cultivation techniques for Buddha's hand melon.

How to plant Buddha's hand gourdDo you know these? Small experiences of green plant maintenance about how to plant Buddha's hand gourd and the key points of cultivation techniques, let's follow the editor to see the specific content!Buddha's hand gourd, also known as foreign towel gourd or twin leaf gourd, has nutritious fruits. There are many ways to eat Buddha's hand gourd, such as shredding, slicing, eating raw, cooking, stir-frying, cold mixing, matching with meat, chicken, fish, or making soup, etc. It can also be pickled and marinated, with a unique flavor. The skin is thick and durable for storage and transportation, suitable for autumn storage and winter use, adjusting the winter light season.I. Variety selection1. Green-skinned gourds have a strong growth momentum, with thick and long vines, producing many fruits, high yield, and tuberous roots. The fruit shape is long and large, with steel thorns and dark green skin.2. White-skinned gourds have weaker growth, with thin and short vines, producing fewer fruits and lower yield. The fruit shape is round and small, smooth without thorns, with white-green skin, but dense texture, starchy, and better taste.3. Guiling Buddha's hand gourd, produced in the Guangling area of Fuzhou, has two methods of propagation: fruit propagation and branching propagation. Branching propagation can start harvesting gourds in May of the same year, while fruit propagation starts in August.II. Requirements for environmental conditionsBuddha's hand gourds prefer warm conditions and can tolerate higher temperatures. In the north of the Yangtze River and East China, the temperatures in winter and spring are relatively low, making it unsuitable for planting. Buddha's hand gourds are short-day plants and do not bloom or bear fruit under long-day conditions. They require fertile, well-drained loamy soil; otherwise, their growth will be poor.III. Key cultivation techniques1. Propagation methods(1) Fruit propagationFrom late November to early December, wrap the seeds in a plastic bag and place them in a location with temperatures between 15-25°C to germinate. When the seeds have grown a lot of roots, remove them from the plastic bag and transplant them into large flower pots for seedling raising. After the final frost, plant them outdoors. If a small plastic greenhouse is set up over the planting area, uncovering it during the day and covering it at night for insulation and frost prevention, the planting period can be appropriately advanced. In fertile conditions, plant about 25 plants per mu, and 1-2 plants are suitable for general gardens. Before planting, dig a large hole for the gourds, apply enough farmyard manure and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, and mix them thoroughly with the soil. If the soil is dry, water it first.(2) Branching propagationAround Qingming (April 4th), dig half of the top of the old plant to expose the tuberous roots, cut off a piece of tuberous root weighing about 50 grams with 2-3 buds, and plant it in a prepared hole, allowing the buds to stick out of the soil by about 1.5 centimeters. You can also dig up the entire old plant and cut the tuberous roots for propagation as described above.2. Watering and topdressingBefore June, the plant grows slowly and should be controlled for watering to avoid reducing soil temperature. From July onwards, growth accelerates, and the soil should be kept moist. Three applications of topdressing are done within a year, in early June, mid-late July, and mid-late August.Topdressing method: First, dig a shallow circular trench around the gourd hole 30 centimeters away, apply the fertilizer, and then cover it with the original soil. Both animal waste and chemical fertilizers can be used for topdressing, but the three main nutrients should be used in combination.3. Building a棚 and arranging vinesBuddha's hand gourds have a strong climbing nature. If there are no trees, houses, or stacks of straw nearby to climb on, a trellis must be built and the vines supported. Buddha's hand gourds have a strong branching nature, with lateral vines sprouting from each node. It is important to manage the vines early on to ensure they are evenly distributed on the trellis to avoid overlapping or tangling, which affects ventilation and light. Each plant's trellis area should be at least 50 square meters, up to 2 meters high, and vegetables that tolerate shade can be planted underneath. The trellis must be sturdy to prevent it from being blown over or collapsed by strong winds. The sub-vines and grand-vines of Buddha's hand gourds bear fruit earlier, so the main vines should be pinched off in time, and the sub-vines should also be pinched off appropriately to promote early growth of sub-vines and grand-vines, early fruiting, and increase yield.