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Snake Gourd "Courge serpent"
Eco seeds
New
Snake Gourd "Courge serpent" (Serpent Gourd) - Trichosanthes cucumerina.
An amazing exotic annual vine of the Cucurbitaceae family, native to the tropics of Southeast Asia. This species, also known as pathola or Japanese cucumber, produces incredible thin, twisting fruits up to 1.5 meters long. When fully ripe, they change color from light green to bright orange, and the flesh turns red.
Maturation speed: mid-season.
Plant height: 200-250 cm (vine).
Fruit length: 100-150 cm (diameter about 7 cm, weight up to 1 kg).
Growth habit: climbing.
An amazing exotic annual vine of the Cucurbitaceae family, native to the tropics of Southeast Asia. This species, also known as pathola or Japanese cucumber, produces incredible thin, twisting fruits up to 1.5 meters long. When fully ripe, they change color from light green to bright orange, and the flesh turns red.
Maturation speed: mid-season.
Plant height: 200-250 cm (vine).
Fruit length: 100-150 cm (diameter about 7 cm, weight up to 1 kg).
Growth habit: climbing.
Culinary use and Health benefits.
Trichosanthes is one of the most popular vegetables in Asian cuisine. Young ovaries (30-40 cm long) are eaten. Their juicy and crispy flesh has a unique taste, somewhere between cucumber, green beans, and asparagus with a slight radish note. They are eaten raw in salads, boiled, pickled, and canned. Fruits at medium ripeness are breaded and fried — they taste like mushrooms. And the bright red sweet seed coat of fully ripe fruits tastes like persimmon with a watermelon aroma. Young shoots, tendrils, and flowers are also edible.
Snake gourd is rich in iron, calcium, iodine, and carotene. It is an excellent dietary product, highly beneficial for diabetics as well. The plant has antiseptic, diuretic, and antipyretic properties, and its extracts are widely used in medical cosmetics for skin healing.
Cultivation agrotechnics.
This species grows best in a warm, humid climate. Many fear the capriciousness of this exotic plant, but growing it in a greenhouse is no more difficult than a regular cucumber.
Sowing: Seeds are pre-soaked in warm water (+26...+28°C) with growth stimulants added. Sow in individual containers with soil warmed to +20°C.
Planting: Seedlings are transplanted into a greenhouse (or open ground in the south) in mid-May. The holes are fertilized with humus and watered with warm water. Plants are set 40 cm apart, buried up to the cotyledon leaves.
Care: The optimal temperature is +25...+30°C with a humidity of about 80%. Trichosanthes does not tolerate drafts, cold, or drought. The application of fresh manure is unacceptable (causes root rot). Water regularly with warm water and feed with organic matter 3-4 times per season.
Harvest secrets: The vine must be grown on a sturdy support or trellis. To accelerate fruiting, the plant is formed into a single stem (1-2 ovaries are left on lateral shoots and then pinched off). And to keep the long fruits growing straight and not curling, a small stone or weight is traditionally tied to their tip.
Bot. syn.: Cucumis anguinus (L.) L., Involucraria anguina (L.) M.Roem., Trichosanthes anguina L., Trichosanthes colubrina Jacq.f.
