Gourd Large Bottle

Can be eaten fresh as a baby vegetable and is prized as an Asian delicacy. A high percentage of large bottle-shaped fruits suitable for carving and decoration if left to dry once harvested. Pale-green fruits ripen to straw colour.

Gourds are vining plants from the tropics and need a long growing season to fully mature. Start seeds late spring when temperatures are warming (or on a heat pad) and transplant when all risk of frost has passed. 

A vining habit so requires support. Grow up trellis or pergola, over banks or let them climb up trees. Vines prefer humus rich soil to avoid the stress from dryness over the summer months.

Harvest after foliage is dying away in the autumn.