Essential Techniques for the Common People original: Qimin Yaoshu, a comprehensive agricultural manual written by Jia Sixie in the 6th century.

The Book of Fan Shengzhi says: The Method for Pit-Planting and Harvesting Gourds Fan Shengzhi was a Han dynasty official whose lost agricultural treatise is preserved through quotes in later works like this one.

Gourd Currently known as the bottle gourd; in ancient times, the general term used was hu.

[The pit should be] two feet wide and five inches deep. Mix well-rotted manure shufenManure that has been fully decomposed to avoid "burning" the seedlings with excess heat or pathogens. and soil together. Plant on the last day of the first lunar month planting in the second or third months is also acceptable. Once the seedlings have sprouted, lean brushwood or timber against a wall to allow the vines to climb upward. During dry spells, water them. In the eighth month, prune the vine tips and reduce the number of fruits; on a single vine, leave only five or six gourds if you leave too many, the fruit will not develop properly. In the tenth month, once there has been sufficient frost, harvest them harvesting too early will cause the gourds to rot.

For winter melons, Yue melons A variety of pickling melon, Cucumis melo var. conomon., and gourds, use the pit-planting method quzhongA concentrated planting method involving digging deep pits or trenches to focus water and fertilizer. in the tenth month, following the same procedure as for planting other melons. In winter, pile snow over the pits to form mounds. This keeps the soil moist and fertile, making it superior to planting in the spring.