Bottle Gourd Seedlings and Transplanting in Hydroponics

Bottle Gourd Seedlings and Transplanting in Hydroponics by Pritham "Metal Head" D'Souza

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is a widely grown tropical vegetable which has high carbohydrate content. oil can be extracted from the seed kernel and is used in hair care products. the hard shells of the bottle gourd can be used as utensils, or floats in fishing nets and even musical instruments, due to its resonating property.

i decided to try n grow bottle gourd using simplified hydroponics.


the above pic shows bottle gourd germination in plastic tub. i had sowed the seeds on jan 31, 2009 & germination took place within 3 days.

a perfect seedling of bottle gourd 3 days old


the above pic was taken when 3 leaf stage was observed. date was 10th january, 9 days after germination.


very well defined growth

for the photos below , i had simultaneously sowed 12 seeds in a germinating tray. when they were about 2 inches tall i decided to transplant them in growing tubs.

the above pic shows the substrate taking the shape of the germinating tray. looks like a peanut (chikki) sweet

one of the best photos i have taken. see clearly the well formed rooting network, clear and healthy


the actual size of the seedling for transplanting

hole dug using my thumb in the grow substrate

plugging the hole, so to speak


transplanting done.

a closer look at the leaves of the 3 leaf stage seedling shows some blackish residue. that is the bacteria gel solution i used during the initial stages of seedling growth. as the growth stage progresses, the residue(organic in nature) will disappear.