Sponge Gourd plants require full sunlight therefore your raised bed should be made at a bright sunny spot & Keep the Sponge Gourd container under open sunlight in the backyard.

Watering technique: Water your potted Sponge Gourd plant every day in summer by watering the soil near the plant by using 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 in the kitchen garden.

Sponge 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 Sponge 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 rotted cow dung manure, farmyard manure, compost or Vermicompost.

When your Sponge 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 as top dressing manure

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 & care the plants

Sponge Gourds have separate Male & female flowers on the same plant, so fruits will be formed on female flowers after pollination.

Artificial Hand Pollinations: Take ‘pollens’ from male flowers on painting brush or cotton bud & dust them on ‘stigma’ of female flowers is called hand pollination This will increase overall production of Sponge Gourd . This step is not mandatory because many types of insect pests in your garden will pollinate the Sponge Gourd plants on their own.

Sponge Gourd is a climber & it starts flowering at the end of the second month. You can start harvesting raw Sponge Gourd fruits after 70-80 days after seed sowing. Carry out picking at the interval of 3-4 days. Harvesting of tender and medium sized fruits should be harvested and can continue for the next 90 days after the first harvest.

Disclaimer: This information is exclusively given by experts when tried and tested in our trial fields. The performance of variety / hybrid may vary under different agro climatic / seasonal condition / cultural schedules