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Growing Snake gourd from seed

xman
11 years ago

Hello,

I planted about 10 seeds of Snake gourd (Indian variety) that I got from an online source, but none sprouted.

All my other gourds/vegetable seeds sprouted just fine.

I have tried soaking the seeds in water for 24 hours before planting, still nothing.

Is there something more that needs to be done to successfully sprout snake gourd seeds? How long do these take in general to sprout?

thanks,

xman

Comments (14)

  • aaaaaaaa
    11 years ago

    xman--not sure where you live and temps there. However, in NJ temps, I soak snake gourd seeds over night in warm water; next, break open the hard shell very carefully, so that I do not damage the seed inside. Then, sow this seed in good potting soil and leave the container in warm place. I do see sprout in about 7 to 10 days.

    I have heard members saying that they place in damp paper napkin or in a zip lock bags. This also helps in sprouting. I have tried this method too---and it works well.
    Anna

  • xman
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks Anna for your reply. I live in TX, so the temperatures are in the 90s.

    Do you break and remove the hard shell completely, leaving only the green cotyledons before planting the seed?

    As for the paper napkin or zip lock bags, do you also have to remove the seed shell too?

    thanks,
    xman

  • sagardener
    11 years ago

    If you try to plant the snake gourds too soon they won't sprout. I live in TX too. The way I did it this year was by using the paper towel method. First soak a paper towel in water and squeeze it ( do not dry squeeze. There should not be water when you touch it) In the middle arrange the seeds flat. close all the sides and put the paer towel in a ziplock (sandwich size) bag. Place this bag in indirect sunlight like in a covered patio. In three to four days u see the roots growing and the shells opened. Now you take the seeds carefully and plant directly in the loose soil where ever you want to plant the vine. Plant the seeds shallow. Water 2 times a day. In less than a week the seeds will sprout.

    Hope this helps.

    Yamini

  • sharmigarden
    11 years ago

    Hello XMAN,
    I live in texas too..
    Are you watering them a lot and there is not much sun in that area?
    Mine have done well and i recently got a bounty of five gourds.
    Choose a sunny spot....it should work.

  • xman
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hi,

    I may have had a bad batch of seeds. I got some more seeds and planted 5 of them and all five have sprouted. Thanks for all the advice.

    xman

  • bdharmav
    10 years ago

    Hello All, is it too late now to plant Snake gourd seeds? I live in CA.

    Thanks

  • seysonn
    10 years ago

    Where in CA are you at? what is your zone ? what are your summer temperature like ? when you expect to get the first frost?

    Gourds need about 120 days to mature(like bottle gourds). But if harvest them when they are young, unripe then probably will not need 120 day. It is like growing cucumber and watermelon.

  • plantlover13
    10 years ago

    To plant my seeds, i got seeds from india (unnamed variety, long type). I put them in a paper towel, and 50% broke the seed shell. THen, i stuck them in dirt and viola! i now have two healthy snake gourd plants.

  • Vaibhav
    10 years ago

    Hi Can I get some snake gourd seeds? Thanks - Vaibhav

  • bdharmav
    10 years ago

    I'm in San Jose, CA -> northern CA. The summer gets to 90F sometimes... mostly in 80s. The first frost is most likely (if at all it happens) is Dec 11 (according to google). So, I planted them... and watering. Wondering if they will ever sprout.

    Thanks

  • KLI_6B
    9 years ago

    can someone please share where do you order good snake gourd seeds?

    I tried this year and the seeds didn't germinate at all and would love to try again next year with seeds from good source

    thanks

  • xman
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    YLI_123,

    I have had good results from seeds that I got from Seeds of India online. The temperatures outside should be above 85 or 90 degrees for the seeds to sprout well.

    xman

  • jctsai8b
    9 years ago

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfyF1OQm2Fw

    Snake Gourd Seeds - A "How To" on germinating and sowing the seeds.

  • jctsai8b
    8 years ago

    My snake gourd not to germinate well, I used paper tower method to germinate, only got 4 germinated, 1 dead because I did not water enough when it was young, the other 3 growing pretty well, seems no need to have pest control.

    long squash no need to have pest control either.

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