Wax Gourd
Wax Gourd is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.
A fast growing, long season, warm climate vegetable producing very large fruit up to 20 kg but it is best harvested at 2 kg. The gourds are green with a white waxy coating. The wax gourd keeps for many months off the vine and is eaten raw or cooked. The shoots, tendrils and leaves are also eaten as greens; seeds are edible and are tasty roasted. Use the white flesh of this giant fruit in a chicken and wax-gourd curry; serve appetizers of finely chopped stir-fried vegetables in bowls made from a hollowed-out melon. Sow after frost in spring; in tropical areas sow during the dry season. Sow direct into well composted soil, 1-2 cm deep, 1 m apart on raised mounds, rows 1 m apart. Days to harvest: 100.
Product: Wax Gourd
Product type: SEED (45)
Botanical name: Benincasa hispida
Syn.: syn. Chinese winter melon, flour gourd, dong gua
Wax Gourd is a fast growing, vigorous, tropical vine producing very large fruit up to 20 kg. The round gourds are green with a white waxy coating and store for many months if fully ripe. This squash-like vegetable is used steamed or stir fried when young and in a special soup served in its own shell, when mature. The shoots, tendrils and leaves are eaten as greens; seeds are edible and are tasty roasted.
Plant type: Warm season annual vine; frost tender
Plant height: 2m, can be grown on a trellis but fruit will need support
Sow when: Germinate best at 30 - 32°C soil temp.
Temperate: Early spring, needs a long growing season, start indoors
Subtropical: Spring to early autumn
Tropical: Dry season
Germination: 7 - 10 days
Depth: 2 cm deep
Position: Full sun
Sow where: Directly where it is to grow
Soil type: Fertile, well-drained, pH 6.5
Details: Pre-soak the seeds in hot water at 45°C for 20 minutes, then soak them in warm water at 30°C for 24 hours
Harvest: 90 days for storage; 21-28 days to eat straight away like a zucchini
Suitable for hot and humid: Suitable for hot and humid growing conditions
45 seeds per packet
Benincasa hispida
syn. Chinese winter melon, flour gourd, dong gua
Warm season annual vine; frost tender
Wax Gourd
A fast growing, long season, warm climate vegetable producing very large fruit up to 20 kg but it is best harvested at 2 kg. The gourds are green with a white waxy coating. The wax gourd keeps for many months off the vine and is eaten raw or cooked. The shoots, tendrils and leaves are also eaten as greens; seeds are edible and are tasty roasted. Use the white flesh of this giant fruit in a chicken and wax-gourd curry; serve appetizers of finely chopped stir-fried vegetables in bowls made from a hollowed-out melon. Sow after frost in spring; in tropical areas sow during the dry season. Sow direct into well composted soil, 1-2 cm deep, 1 m apart on raised mounds, rows 1 m apart. Days to harvest: 100.