How to transplant bitter gourd seedlings? Have you experienced growing bitter gourd plants? This plant produces fruits that taste bitter. There are many dishes that you can make using bitter gourd. Their fruits are rich in vitamins and minerals despite their bitter taste so it is really great to grow bitter gourd plants. It takes a while for the plants to produce fruits but it will be exciting once they start fruiting.
The bitter gourd seeds can be planted directly in the soil or grow them first in the seedling tray. Growing bitter gourds from seeds is the only way to propagate this plant because they are not growing through cutting and cannot be propagated through budding and even grafting. The seeds are sown a few inches deep in the soil and then the plants grow there until it becomes longer and produces flowers and fruits.
It’s great to germinate bitter gourds seed in a seed tray and then do transplanting after. Some gardeners directly sow the seeds in the soil and they don’t germinate them in a seed tray. When you germinate bitter gourd seeds in the seed tray you need to do transplanting once the seedlings have enough size. It is a great start to growing bitter gourd plants.
How To Transplant Bitter Gourd Seedlings?
Before you transplant bitter gourd seedlings, you need to find a good place for them to plant. Look for a location where there is abundant sunlight in order for the plants to create food.
The sun helps the plants become healthy especially when they get enough sunlight every day. When the sun hits the leaves of the plant, the leaves convert the sunlight into a sugar called glucose which is what the plant consumes.
If you want to make your bitter gourd plants grow well then you should find a perfect spot for those seedlings.
In order to make transplanting successful, you need to bring your seed tray with you near the location you decided to transplant them. You should do it early in the morning or late in the afternoon because the sun doesn’t shine too strongly and the temperature during those times is not too hot.
In that way, the seedlings of the bitter gourd will be safer during the transplanting. You need to dig a few inches deep in the soil. Place one bitter gourd seedling in one hole so that they will grow well and it will not be crowded.
You need to cover them with the soil and water them after to help the roots spread and help the plant establish. With the help of water, the bitter gourd transplant shock will be lessened or prevented. When the plant suffers from transplant shock some signs might show like the bitter gourd leaves turning yellow, the leaves curling, or dropping.
The transplanting of bitter gourd seedlings will be easier if you are using a seed tray bought from the store because those seed trays have many small holes. Taking the seedlings in the seed tray is easier to do and prevents damaging the seedlings. It is important to know how to transplant bitter gourd seedlings but when to do it?
When To Transplant Bitter Gourd Seedlings?
You can transplant bitter gourd seedlings once they reach 15 days. The seeds of the bitter gourds will germinate in 5 to 10 days. After those days, a small plant will appear on the soil. After the 15 days, the seedlings will have enough roots, leaves, and length which is perfect for them to be transplanted.
When choosing a seedling, choose those healthy ones. Some of the seedlings will grow poor and you can avoid those seedlings. You can assure that your plant will grow well by choosing good-looking seedlings.
But there are times that even if the seedlings grow poor during the early days, they perform better after a few weeks and months. So you can still use some of those seedlings even if they don’t look great. If you have lots of seedlings you can grow a lot of plants sooner.
Why Is It Important To Transplant Bitter Gourd Seedlings?
Transplanting bitter gourd seedlings is only needed if you sow your seeds in the seed tray. If you plant bitter gourd seeds directly in the soil, you don’t need to do transplanting. It is important to transplant bitter gourd seedlings from the seed tray so that they will have a good spot for them to grow well. The seedlings will not grow better in the seed tray.
A seed tray has shallow small holes so they will not grow fine in there. You need to move them outside in the soil for them to grow. A planting distance for bitter gourds is important. Don’t plant them too close to prevent overcrowding. They can maximize their growth when there is enough space between the plants.
In that spot, seedlings can get water and sunlight. The rainfall can give them water and the sunlight will help create their food. You can also improve the soil quality by adding fertilizers. In no time you will see how fast bitter gourds grow and how big they are.
Tools Needed In Transplanting Bitter Gourd Seedlings
A seed tray is used to pre-grow the seedlings. You need a seed tray to germinate your seeds and pick which seedlings are healthy. You can germinate many seeds since there are many small containers in the seed tray.
A trowel and some digging tools are needed when transplanting the seedlings. You need to make holes in the soil and place one seedling each. Avoid placing two or more seedlings in a hole to prevent them from overcrowding.
Some watering tools are needed when you need to water the bitter gourds. If you are using a garden hose, you need to make sure that the stream of water is weak to prevent damaging the seedlings. The blast of water from the hose is sometimes strong and you need to adjust the flow of water.
You can also use a watering can, pail and dipper, and other tools. Water is important for newly transplanted seedlings. You need to take care of bitter gourds to make them grow excellent.
It’s great to know when and how to transplant bitter gourd seedlings (ampalaya). Commonly bitter gourd seeds are planted directly in the soil but for some reason, some gardeners grow the seedlings first in the seed tray, and then once the seedlings have enough height they do transplanting. Planting bitter gourd seeds in the seed tray is also great to do to make sure that the plants will grow. You can pick those healthy seedlings and avoid those poor ones.