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Calabash 'Giant Bushel' / 'Giant Ronde de Zaire'

Calabash 'Giant Bushel' / 'Giant Ronde de Zaire'

Calabash 'Giant Bushel' / 'Giant Ronde de Zaire'

Product number: 121510
Origin: Tropical Africa
Latin: Lagenaria siceraria

This spherical, shiny, smooth gourd is light green in color. Bushel means "bushel" = an old unit of volume of 10 liters. That's about right; this fruit has a diameter of 30-40 cm and weighs around 10 kg. If you delve into growing champion fruits, you can manage to grow a Bushel 60-70 cm in diameter, which can weigh up to 50 kg – that's multiple bushels!
Sonja Vanhecke sent us beautiful photos of how she dries a fresh fruit, scrapes it clean, and finally paints and processes it into a beautiful finished product!

Names:
Latin: Lagenaria siceraria
Dutch: Kalebas
Also known as: Lagenaria
English: Bottle-Gourd, Creole: Poe, Hindustani: Lauki

Sowing method: Sow indoors from March to May. Plant out in April in the greenhouse or late May outdoors. This white-flowering gourd likes a warm summer and therefore grows well in a greenhouse. But because it blooms at night, keep the windows and doors open! Outdoor cultivation usually works well, but let the plants climb! If well ripened, it can be stored for several months, and after drying, indefinitely.

Sowing/planting time: