Benincasa hispida, the wax gourd, also called ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, tallow gourd, ash pumpkin, winter melon,Chinese preserving melon, is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature. It is the only member of the genus Benincasa. The fruit is covered in a fuzzy coating of fine hairs when young. The immature fruit has thick white flesh that tastes sweet. By maturity, the fruit loses its hairs and develops a waxy coating, giving it the name wax gourd. The wax coating helps to give the fruit a long shelf life of up to a year. The fruit may grow as large as 80 cm in length. It has yellow flowers and broad leaves. can be grown as a climber or on the ground. Sowing the seeds Sow at about the time of last frost, but can be started earlier as transplants, March - May, provided the seedlings are set out before becoming root-bound. Plants need rich soil full of organic matter. May need supporting. Supply abundant moisture and keep picking mature fruit. Feed well. |
Always use a good quality seed compost
Please note we pack the majority of our seeds by volume so the number of seeds indicated is only an approximation.
Seeds are packed into Glassine envelopes or zip-lock bags to keep them fresh
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