Author Topic: googootz in So. Flo  (Read 3971 times)

gnappi

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googootz in So. Flo
« on: April 17, 2018, 01:05:52 PM »
I had my brother in law send me some googootz seeds and I am sprouting them in wet paper towels.

I have questions before I waste time on them.

1. Has anyone grown googootz in south Florida successfully?

2. If so do you have any recommendations on soil to use and sun / water requirements?

3. Finally are there any pests I should expect and if so what remedies do I have?


« Last Edit: April 18, 2018, 09:58:29 PM by gnappi »
Regards,

   Gary

pineislander

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Re: googootz in So. Flo
« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2018, 06:52:26 PM »
Yes, it is Bottle Gourd,  Lagenaria siceraria. Grew great for me during winter/early spring. Lpves water, fertile sun, and something to climb up on. Grew well for me in the Caribbean, well known to asian people. Had a bit of trouble with powdery mildew but it kept going. Pick young and small for tender fruit, remove oversized fruit or the plant will try to ripen them with a decrease in production. When vine declines the gourds harden to a shell which can be used for bottles, cups, etc, crafts, musical instruments, birdhouses. There are many shapes of lagenaria siceraria, from round to very long and everything in between. Search bottle gourd youtube and google.

recifecbba

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Re: googootz in So. Flo
« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2018, 07:34:35 PM »
YES! they grow great in south florida! and the caterpillars don't seem to bother them at all (as for cucumbers and squash just are impossible for me) I have some growing right now

gnappi

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Re: googootz in So. Flo
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2020, 07:57:15 AM »
My initial attempts were foiled by weather and my dog digging around them. This year I have one plant growing nicely and it's flowering already. On a sad note the flowers shrivel up and fall off the vine.  It seems to be happy and continues to grow well and snake its way around my trellis.

Why would flowers die? Are the flowers not "perfect" and need a separate pollinator plant?
Regards,

   Gary

pineislander

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Re: googootz in So. Flo
« Reply #4 on: February 18, 2020, 06:40:09 PM »
They have male and female flowers on the same vine. Usually you will get a lot of male flowers first then you will start getting female flowers. The female flowers will have a small ovary visible under the flower.

gnappi

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Re: googootz in So. Flo
« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2020, 10:51:52 PM »
Well, my googootz are doing fine. My GF is from Sicily and she showed me that the longer stemmed flowers are male, the stems half to 1/3  the length of the males are females and bear fruit. Mine has maybe a dozen on it now. Next year I'll put in a Japanese style trellis to grow them on.

Regards,

   Gary

pineislander

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Re: googootz in So. Flo
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2020, 06:53:47 AM »
Yes, during the dry season they can really do well if given some irrigation. The fruits grow very fast and can get oversized for eating after a week so watch carefully. Leave one to ripen hard till it gets lightweight for viable seeds into the future.
The seeds are sometimes hard coated a trick for germination is to barely nick the seed coating on the non-pointed end.
I usually lose some up in the trees and critters spread the seeds so they volunteer in the spring time.