As the season gets hotter (and it can get really hot, with the day temperature here in India getting to above 37 Degrees Celsius - that's 97 Fahrenheit) and it is likely to get even hotter as the summer starts to reach a peak. In the summer, with hot weather such as this, it is creepers that grow - plants such as bell pepper, different types of gourds, okra, these are the kind of plants that really thrive in this weather.
For this post, I am detailing my experiences with bottle gourd. It is a gourd that is cooked and made into a dry dish or a curry - the taste is an acquired taste. It is very good health wise and is very easy to digest, which makes it an essential requirement for a healthy diet. Some people use it as a side dish, while others actually use it as a main dish, with some accompanying wheat bread.
Bottle gourd is a creeper that can quickly grow to a large size with large leaves. You need space to grow this plant, to let it climb, and to provide a support structure for the plant. In the below photo, you can see how large the leaves of this plant are. I have provided a bamboo structure for the plant to climb on, as well as provide a cloth support from a higher level so that part of the plant can climb.
The creeper branches out into separate sections, each of which forms a large creeper of its own, and hence, if properly fed, the plant can quickly become pretty large. People who really like to grow this plant create a metal trellis with an overhead support so that the creepers of this plant can grow and grow.
The plant develops two types of flowers - there are the male flowers, that grow prolifically within a few days of the creeper starting to grow large.
However, the development of the fruit happens with the female flower - as in the photo below, you can see that it looks like a small bottle gourd, with a flower at its end. This is not a fruit as yet - the female flower needs to be fertilized with a male flower. If you have plenty of pollinators such as bees and other insects, it can happen easily. However, many people who grow this in home gardens do manual pollination, where they gather some pollen from the male flower (using a small brush or stick or something small) and rub this against the end of the female flower. If pollination happens, the fruit will develop, but if the pollination has not happened, the fruit will fall off and you will be disappointed. If you have just one creeper, then people actually store the male flower in the fridge and use it to pollinate the female flowers (which may occur a day or two after the male flower).
This creeper, like many such plants, are heavy feeders. You need to provide large pots, water to ensure deep soaking of the potting mix, do mulching and provide compost on a periodic basis. Make sure that soil is well draining, and if the leaves are drooping, such as in the image below, you need to check whether you watering is enough.
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