Cultivation of "Lagenaria siceraria" Using the "Para-Para" Method for Decoration Saves Land

Hello friends of Steemit Garden, I hope that all of you are always in good health and blessed.

In this post I want to share education about pumpkin plants. When I visited one of the famous coffee shops in Central Aceh district, I found a pumpkin plant that was grown in a very unique and creative method. At the location of this coffee shop, it is decorated with a plantation concept, where everyone can enjoy coffee in the garden.

One of the things that caught my attention was in one of the areas where pumpkin plants were planted. I've had gardening experience since childhood, I was taught many things by my parents about gardening. We've also grown this type of pumpkin, so I already knew it was a water gourd/pumpkin type.

This pumpkin plant is also called a vegetable pumpkin because this plant is included in the category of plants that can be cooked as vegetables. This plant can be cooked as a vegetable starting from the still shoots of the leaves to the fruit. In scientific language according to wikipedia, this water pumpkin or white gourd plant is called Lagenaria siceraria.

This pumpkin plant has two types of fruit, there is a round fruit and an oval fruit like what you get in this garden. Planting this pumpkin plant seems to use a very creative planting method. Because this type of pumpkin can grow easily in various types of soil, it is better to use humus or burnt soil.

The owner uses this small land to grow pumpkins with the para-para method. Para-para is a pole shaped like a rack that is made up to a height of 2 meters. This support pole is made to provide convenience in the growth of pumpkin plants.

These poles have been made when the pumpkin plants have entered the age of 1 week of planting. When planting, pumpkin seeds are sown in soil holes that have been given a mound and sprinkled with fertilizer. We can use manure or NPK fertilizer when the pumpkin plant has entered the planting age of up to 1 month.

This pumpkin plant is a type of plant that propagates to various sides and grows creeping. The purpose of making the support poles is to attach the tendrils of the pumpkin plant when it has grown vines or spreads. The vines will propagate following the pole or shelf to the top.

Making these houses-shaped poles to make pumpkin plants bear fruit easily. This can make the plant's flowers grow easily, and when it bears fruit, the fruit will hang and make it grow quickly. Making this para-para requires 4 support poles made of bamboo, at the top it can be made into a roof by tying small bamboos.

The pumpkin plant will spread to the top of the roof and grow in a vine with its vines wrapped around each bamboo pole. When it has entered the planting age of more than 1 month, the pumpkin plant will begin to produce flowers. This yellowish green flower then turns into a pumpkin.

This oval pumpkin has a whitish green skin color with a skin texture that is not hard. This pumpkin can be picked when it is still young so that it can be cooked into vegetables. The process of picking by cutting using a knife on the stalk of the pumpkin.

When picking should not be pulled by hand, because it can damage the vine and pumpkin flower sprouts. This can result in damage and even death to the shoots of pumpkin plants that can no longer bear fruit. This oval pumpkin can reach a length of up to 50 centimeters or more.

In planting pumpkins, we hardly encounter any harmful pests, some of which may be pests that attack the leaves. Pest prevention can be eradicated by cleaning the mound where the pumpkin stem is overgrown. Remove nuisance plants such as weeds and plants that can damage the growth of pumpkin plants.

Clearing weeds will reduce the spread of pests and provide more nutritional gain for pumpkin plants. In addition, pumpkin plants also need watering to help growth and make the soil more fertile. Watering can be done 2 times a day, namely in the morning and evening.

The unique thing about this planting method is that there is an open space like a house covered with pumpkin plants. This open space is decorated with tables and chairs that allow visitors to relax under the pumpkin plants while looking at the hanging pumpkins. This method of planting can certainly reduce land use, because even pumpkin plants don't need soil to propagate.

How, are you interested in growing pumpkins with this method? Thus my post about the pumpkin cultivation method. Hopefully useful and educational.

Regards,
@ponpase