In this guide we are going to look at:
How to grow Lauki (bottle gourd) at home in pots?
As Lauki’s juice is something that everyone avoids but anyone who knows its health benefit will never say no to it.
Bottle Gourd (Lauki) has 92% water content in it along with many other minerals, which can keep us hydrated for a long period of time.
Well enough with its benefits if you have come here to learn how to grow bottle gourd (Lauki) at home, you already seem to know its benefits.
Bottle gourd is a sun loving plant which makes it a perfect vegetable to be grown in India.
So, let’s start with our simple guide on growing Lauki in pots.
In this guide I will cover both these points:
- How to grow bottle gourd (Lauki) with seeds?
- How to grow Lauki without seeds?
What are the requirements to grow bottle gourd at home?
Sunlight:
As I told you earlier, these plants love sun and requires a good amount of sunlight for their proper growth.
5-6 hours of sunlight is ideal for them.
If the sun is too harsh in your area as it gets during summer in India, then you should cover it with a green net.
Check out – How to make terrace garden easily from scratch
Container:
For container you can use big pots or good quality grow bags or if you have used paint buckets, tub or something like this can also be used for growing it.
Make sure to wash them properly and let them dry completely before use.
Worried About Your Succulent – Check out this succulent care guide
Important:
Make 3-4 holes at the bottom of the container to let the excess water drain out of it. This step is very important because if the excess water doesn’t flush out it will cause root rot.
Potting mixture:
If you already have a potting mix available at your house then its good.
Otherwise:
Take 40% garden soil + 30%-35% coco peat + 30% vermicompost (or either cow dung or goat dung)
But if you don’t have any of these you can get a readymade mixture (online or from nearby nursery) which will ensure proper growth of your plant.
Learn To Make Potting Soil At Home
Best time to grow lauki at home in pots:
When there is no chance of frost, bottle gourds love hot weather and sun. So, spring season (Mar-Apr) and Oct-Nov is a good time to grow it.
Just make sure there is no frost and enough sun for it.
How To Grow Lauki (Bottle Gourd) At Home In Pots From Seeds:
Bottle gourd can be sown directly in the potting mixture.
Lauki seeds take 10-14 days for germination usually. For faster germination you can soak its seeds overnight in water before sowing it which makes it outer covering smooth.
Its seeds need to be planted 1-2-inch-deep into the soil and then sprayed lightly. Keep a gap of 8 inches between two seeds so that they don’t start fighting for nutrition.
Once they start to grow, make sure to water them properly and never let it dry
Bottle gourd plants turns into a vine so you will need to guide it either with the help of a strong stick or let it go over your house.
What you need to take care while watering is that:
Bottle gourd loves water and especially if the sun is shining bright you may need to water it twice a day. But just check before watering if the soil is dry or not. Overwatering is never good for plants.
You need to make sure that the first few (1-2) inches of the soil are moist not wet. You can check it by inserting your finger inside the soil.
When To Harvest Bottle Gourd:
- Bottle gourd is ready to be harvested within 45-60 days of seed sowing.
- Before plucking it make sure that its covering is tender and can be pierced easily.
How to grow bottle gourd without seeds?
The process for it also same, the only thing that changes here is that.
Plant these saplings into the potting mixture 3 inches deep. Don’t water it immediately and keep it under shade for 2 days and provide it indirect light.
Because there are high chances that the nursery you get it from must have a green environment.
You need to check that the saplings you got are healthy if any of them is not healthy you should not plant it.
or else they will be unnecessarily taking up the nutrition from the healthy ones.
Wrapping it up:
That’s it, bottle gourd is one of the easiest & fastest growing vegetable that can be grown in containers and are ready to be harvested within 2 months.
If you loved this guide share it with your friends and family members and ask them to grow organic lauki at home and enjoy its health benefits.
