Bottle Gourd Seeds (Long)

Bottle gourd — lauki in most Indian homes — is a workhorse vine for anyone growing food in a small space, mostly because it climbs cleanly if you give it something to climb. This long variety produces the elongated fruit used in everything from lauki sabzi to kofta and juice, and picking it young off your own vine means tender flesh without the woody core older gourds can develop. For a terrace or balcony with a railing, wall, or overhead frame nearby, it's a natural pick for turning unused vertical space into a working crop. Give it full sun — 6-8 hours a day — and don't hold back on water; bottle gourd wants deep, regular watering rather than the occasional top-up. It's a vigorous climber, so a strong trellis isn't optional here, and spacing plants 90-120 cm apart keeps the vines from tangling into each other. From sowing to first harvest runs about 70-85 days, putting it roughly between quicker crops like bhindi and slower ones like pumpkin.