Hercules Club

Hercules Club, also called Long Gourd, Club Gourd, Cucuzzi Squash, Sicilian Snake. Produces very long fruits, up to 50-75cm. Young fruits are cooked and eaten like squash. White, delicate flesh. Fully ripe fruits get hard as wood. Climbing or trailing up to 250cm or more. Lagenaria longissima. 6seeds/pack

NOTE: The fruits in the picture were not grown for seeds. As you can see in the picture both the Hercules Club and the regular Bottlegourd were grown at the same time. Gourds might cross-pollinate. This is a picture from our dear friend Antonio's garden that grew several different varieties of gourds in the same season only for using the fruits.

Most species in the Cucurbitaceae Family are vining varieties, with the vines climbing or trailing up to several meters. Can be grown both on the ground and climbing up on support, like nets or stakes. Also, bush varieties occur, for example, in many of the zucchini-varieties. In general, Cucurbitaceae wants to grow in a warm and well-fertilized place. Harvest before frost, since frost will damage the fruits. Many varieties can be stored for a long time.

How to Grow

Cucurbitaceae can either be sown directly in the ground or cultivated indoors before planting the seedlings in the garden. The choice of method depends on your growing conditions and the variety being grown. If you farm in a warmer area with a long summer season, sowing directly in the garden will save you a lot of work. If the season is too short in your area, you will risk not getting any harvest. If you are farming in a short-season area you can sow indoors and will "save time" by having seedlings, ready for planting when the risk for frost is over.

If you sow indoors, use sterilized potting soil. Sow about 3cm deep. Cucurbitaceae grows fast, so don't sow too early. About 4 weeks before planting is reasonable. Place at 23-25°C during germination. After sprouting, lower the temperature to avoid lanky plants. You might have to re-plant the seedling once or twice, depending on the pot size. Cucurbitaceae can not stand being affected by frost, so do not plant outdoors before the risk of frost is over. If you direct sow the temperature of the soil must be over 15°C, otherwise the seeds will rot. When you plant the seedlings, the distance depends on the size of the variety. The larger variety, the bigger distance between seedlings.