Ugu (Fluted Pumpkin) farming is becoming more popular in recent times especially among small scale and new bie farmers. With the current food inflation, a lot of Nigerians seemed to have picked greater interest in are growing their own food in order to consume it or to sell it for profit. This has seen the desire of practical knowlegde on how to grow Ugu vegetable seed soar to the top.

And here we are today to do justice to it by teaching you in practical terms how to access, plant, grow and nurture the Ugu (Pumpkin) seed from ground zero to harvest.

Are you ready? Lets go!

But before we do, remember i only ask of one thing from you. Which is to share this post after reading. This will help many more farmers and newbie gardener learn valuable growing tips we share here. thank you.

Now, lets dive deep into this topic.

Ugu Vegetable (A Brief Histroy)

The Ugu vegetable (Pumpkin) plant is one of most popular plants that are cultivated in Nigeria. It is popularly known as Ugu especially in the Eastern part of the country. While you can also call it fluted pumpkin. The Ugu plant is grown by majority of people in lots of West African regions.

However, the Igbos from the Eatern part of Nigeria happens to be the chief cultivators of the Ugu plant.

7 USES OF THE UGU (FLUTED PUMPKIN) LEAVE:

The Ugu leaves is used for alot of thing. I will be listing ou only but a few popular uses of the Ugu leaves. Here they are:

• The Ugu leave is a popular ingredient for soup making
• It helps to prevent osteoporosis, which affects the bones, especially in the aged.
• To prevent convulsion, you are supposed to drink pumpkin juice.
• It boosts fertility in women and improves post-pregnancy health.
• It boosts milk production in lactating mothers.
• Ugu leave is rich in antioxidants which makes it stand out as a possible tool for the effective in prevention of cancer and other associated health conditions like ulcers.
• Ugu leave contain high volume of vitamin C which helps in maintaining healthy tissues, cells, membrane as well as maintaining a good skin.

Despite all the uses outlined above, It will be wise for us to mention, that not all part of the plant are used for either food or medicinal purpose. For instance, the fruits of the Ugu plant (that is the Pod) cant be eaten. However, the seed which is found inside the pod, you can be eaten.

Having stated that, lets learn how to growing and nurturing the Ugu plant.

Check out: 10 Benefits of Planting Vegetables in Sacks and Containers.

THE UGU POD

Planting and growing the Ugu (Pumpkin) plant starts from the pod. The above picture shows what the Ugu (pumpkin) Pod looks like. The pod contains teh Ugu (Pumpkin) seeds. In a typical day, one pod can contain about 50 to 80+ seeds. In Nigeria, a pod of ugu (pumpkin goes from as low as N4000 to as high as N8000. The effect of demand and supply plays a great role in determining which price it sells for. So, this is just an estimate.

THE FRESHLY EXTRACTED UGU SEED FROM THE POD

This is how a freshly extracted Ugu (Pumpkin) seed from a pod looks like in the picture above. These seed are what id been planted to sprout the Ugu (pumpkin) plant. However, planting it at this point might cause to greater percentage of your seed to decay. It is advisable that you sundry your seed for a 24hr to 72hrs before planting them. Upon sun drying it, your Ugu (Pumpkin) will change a bit in color from the picture above to what we have in the picture below.

WHY DO I HAVE TO SUN DRY MY UGU SEED BEFORE PLANTING?

The major reason why you need to sun dry your freshly extracted Ugu seed before planting it is to reduce the water level of the seed a bit. When an Ugu seed is extracted, the volume of water or moist present tends to be much. This excess moist in the seed is believe to cause the seed to decay in the soil if planted immediately. So, sun drying it is a natural method to reduce moisture of the seed, accelerate germination and ensure zero mortality of the seed.

3 THINGS YOU NEED TO PLANT UGU (PUMPKIN)

Now that your Ugu (Pumpkin) seed is sundry and ready for planting, lets take a look at the 3 top things you need to kick start your journey to become an Ugu farmer. Here they are:

• The Ugu seed
• A land, sack bag or container
• A rich loamy soil

These are the three 3 basic things you need to get started. Note: The land you choose for planting your Ugu seeds has to be close to a source of water. Ugu plant grows deep into the ground and requires alot of water. However, you can still plant and grow your Ugu relying total on rain fall.

WHERE CAN I PURCHASE QUALITY UGU SEEDS?

You can buy from us. Brilliant tech farmer Ltd is the best global supplier of premium vegetable, maize, water melon, cabbage, cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes and other varieties of seeds – both for commercial and home garden planting. To buy, Call or whatsapp us via our support line 09066762744

CAN I PLANT MY UGU IN A SACK BAG OR CONTAINER?

Yes, you can plant your Ugu in a sack bag, plastic container or can. Not having access to a land is no longer an excuse not to farm mand grow Ugu, These days, thousands of people in our fast growing farmers community Brilliant Tech Farmers Hub are busy planting and growing Ugu (pumpkin) from their backyard. So, you have got no excuse.

HOW DO I PREPARE MY SOIL FOR UGU PLANTING?

At Brilliant Tech Farmer Ltd, we promote organic farming. So, we advice you source your manure which could be fowl dung or cow dung and apply them to your farm two weeks before making your ridge or two weeks after making your ridge as the case maybe. If you choose to use fertilizer, then you must apply it one month after your ugu seed have germinated.

Step 1: Apply organic manure two weeks ahead

Planting an ugu seed is not done in carelessness. Everything has to be done carefully to ensure great yeild and reduce seed mortality. So, here are the steps you need to follow to prepare your land or soil before planting your seeds. If you choose to plant your in sack bags or plastic container, then apply step as necessary.

Step 2: Make ridges in the soil.

The first step in planting your Ugu seed is to make your ridges. But you can decide to use zero tilage (what this means is: you wont be making bed or ridges). Regardless of which ever you choose, you seed will sprout well with all other things being equal.

Step 3: Start Planting.

The planting stage of your Ugu seed is very important and if wrongly placed will lead to failed or delayed germination. Yet, this where alot of farmer get it wrong. Many farmers dont know the right way to place their Ugu seed into the soil.

Here is how to plant it: Place the pointed part of the seed downwards. Yes, downwards. Please follow instructions.

I CANT FIND THE POINTED PART, MY UGU SEED IS JUST ROUND. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Yes, some Ugu seeds seems to appear round all through. If this is your case, here is what you should do. Just lie the Ugu seed flat on the ground and cover it with the soil. This way, you are giving the Ugu seed a 50/50 chance to sprout from either ways.

Step 4: Make sure that the seed is not too deep in the soil.

Do not plant your Ugu seed deeper than 10cm. Going deeper than this might lead to high mortality or poor germination. And you do not want this. Because this will lead to a total waste of your money, time and effort. Also ensure that you space out each seed from the other. Depending on how large your farm is and the volume of seed you want to plant, you can give a space of 1m by 1m.

Step 5: Water the soil

Cover up your seed with soil and water them and wait for 5 to 14days for your ugu to germinate. Also, remember that this is the very first time you will be watering them. So, ensure you are consitent with the quantity to all seed.

Check Out: 6 Best Ways to Water your Ugu, Cucumbers, Tomatoes & Watermelons

Step 6: Stake you ugu plant

After 5 to 14 days has passed, place a stick of 1m-2m height close to the pumpkin seed. The plant will climb around the while growing. It’s better to use a stick because the plant will grow better when it climbs around something.

Step 7: Apply organic manure again

It is another time to apply manure. This will be done 8days to 10days after your Ugu seed has germinated and stacking has been done. Manure application isa at your own discretion. However, a 4kg custard bucket would be okay for 4 sprout of your Ugu seed.

Step 8: Water the ugu plant

Water the soil now and then, especially if there is no stream around or during dry weeks.

Step 9: How do i cut my ugu seed for the first time

The topping of your ugu leaves should be is done 21-25 days after germination or 29-34 days after planting! A simpler rule of the thumb expects that you count at least 8-10 leaf notches before you cut off the vines with a very sharp kitchen knife!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Here are some frequently asked question which were not answered earlier

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF CUTTING OFF YOUR UGU LEAVES?

One benefit is to increase the offshot or lateral growth of the vines, thereby increasing productivity which in this concept is measured in leaves per unit area!

CAN I PLANT UGU IN A SACK?

Yes, you can plant in sack bags and plastick containers.

How will you handle the weeds?

Manual because the herbicides around here are non selective. If not, they will kill both the weeds and your vegetables.

My Ugu is not growing well, what could be the possible cause?

First thing is your soil. Especially if you are sure your Ugu vegetable seed is viable. So, the question is: Is your soil rich enough? Did you aplly organic manure at the right time and at a good enough quantity? These and many more are pointers to why your Ugu vegetable might not be doing so well.

My Ugu is not spreading very well after i cut it for the first and second time. What should i do?

Please follow instructions in step 9 above. You did not get the cutting right or you cut at a wrong timing.

Pest are destroying my Ugu farm. What pesticide should I apply?

Please, you can use Cterpillar force. Get a sachet, Take 1 plasticc spoon of it, mix it with 16 liters of water and spread it on your Ugu. Make sure you fumigate every two weeks. You can also try wood ashes. Neem Oil works too.

Can I weed my Ugu farm with hand or cutlass? I heard hand is better?

The main purpose of weeding is to eliminate weed. So, regardless of which method you choose; make sure that the job is done and the goal is achieved. So, both ways works as long as you dont destroy your ugu plant.

CONCLUSION:

Finally, you can harvest your ugu vegetable every 3-4 weeks. However, note that it takes some time before the pumpkin will produce pods. That is if your target is to get a pod. Also bear in mind that not every seed will be able to produce the pods for you.

So there you have it – now you know how to plant an Ugu vegetable! You can sell them for money, buy more seeds, land and have your own small business.

Join our telegram group here Brilliant Tech Farmer Hub.

Join our fast growing farmers community on facebook here: Brilliant Tech Farmer Hub.