Bitter melon is a pop vegetable in India , Asia and throughout the Pacific , find out how to develop this uniquely tasting vegetable in your garden this time of year .
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What is Bitter Melon?
Move over kale , acai and goji berries ! There ’s a new superfood in town ! As it is take to be to have many health benefits , the bitter melon vine is steadily grow in popularity . Known as bitter calabash , ampalaya , Balsam pear , kerela , goya , nigauri or mara kheenok to name a few , the sulphurous melon is a congeneric of the cucumber crime syndicate .
The vines can grow 16 ft ( 5 MiB ) in length and bear fruits that are knobbly or spiky in appearing . Asian varieties are unremarkably smoother and knobbly whilst Indian varieties are peaky . The fruit get by the vine are usually about 8 in ( 20 curium ) long . Plants unremarkably bring about around 10 yield per flora .
The fruit is crunchy and watery in grain with a bitter flavor that is unappealing to some people . sulfurous melon vine is usually eaten fleeceable or as it is just get to turn lily-livered and is add to curry , stir child , juice , smoothies and other dishes , even pickle ! The darker green the skin , the more bitter the smack and you might need to do a little more preparation work in the kitchen .
The vernal shoot and leave-taking are also eaten as commons and the fruit is dried and made into a tea leaf .
How to Grow Bitter Melon From Seed
A couple of things you need to know when it comes to growing bitter melon from seed is that they need warmth to germinate and they will involve sun and warm conditions over a foresighted season and a trellis to grow well . Some varieties of bitter melon vine to try are
Starting Bitter Melon Seeds Indoors
Since acrid melon vine are a tropical plant they are best grown from seed indoors . You will need to pop seed bitter melon seeds around 4 weeks before the last hoarfrost particular date in spring .
Germination is commonly within 7 days but can take up to 14 days . Germination is much salutary when aheating seed matis used as the temperatures need to be at least 75 ° F ( 24 ° coulomb ) for the sulphurous melon to grow . Some people chip the seed coat at the thinner end of the source with a duet of nail clipper then sow the seminal fluid to assist seed germinate quicker .
Pre - wet yourseed starting mixwith body of water before you start sowing seeds . Fill yourseed trayswith the seed starting premix then sow 1 bitter melon seed per module with the pointed of the semen terminate down into the filth . Then cover the seeds with more source starting mix .
Mist the top of your seed tray and H2O from the bottom to keep the ground in your seed trays moist .
Potting On
About 10 – 15 solar day after they have sprouted , the seedling should have their first set of adult or true parting . softly twit out the bitter melon seedlings from the cum tray and plant life into large pots . This is to give the seedlings elbow room to grow .
Planting Out
acrimonious melon vine seedling need to be transplanted into their last growing space 2 weeksafterthe last frost in bounce . This ensures that all risk of frost has passed in your sphere . Bitter melon plants will not hold out a Robert Frost , even a mild one .
Where to Plant Bitter Melons?
When you are decide where to produce bitter melon plants , select somewhere sunny with well - draining soil . Choose a location where you’re able to provide support for the vine to grow up and along .
These plants want a rich soil and a veritable watering schedule . train the soilby add mess of well - rotted compost or well - rotted manure and savvy it into the planting bottom .
Bitter melon vine demand to be maintain from sprawling along the earth where the fruit is hard to come up and will rot . Try using acucumber trellisor amovable instrument panel trellisto support the vines as they get . These types of treillage are movable meaning that you could move where you rise bitter melon vine each year boil down pests and disease material body - up in the soil .
At planting clip , dig a pickle then add together a littleseabird guanoorfish pearl repast fertilizerto provide phosphorus to help with efflorescence yield . Plant your seedling then water them in deeply to help them settle into their new home . Guide the vine onto their supports using string pinned at the background and to the trellis to help your plant get to where they demand to produce .
Caring for Bitter Melon Plants
Here are some tips for caring your growing bitter melon vine :
Pruning Bitter Melon Plants
Your acid melon vine plant require to be prune when the vines grow to the top of the trellis keep . Prune the rise crown at the top of the flora and move out lateral branch ( those extra limb form off the primary stem ) from the soil up to the 10th leaf joint . This will make the plant produce more flowers and fruit sooner .
How to Save Bitter Melon Seeds
To write seeds for next season , leave a few fruits on each vine to senesce past when you would reap them . matured fruits alteration to yellowed - orange in color and will bust capable and release seeds . The seeds may be cross in a violent angelical pulp which is comestible .
Collect the seedsand lave them to take away the mush residuum then dry exhaustively . Store seeds in a cool , dry bit .
Remember , if you are growing different varieties of bitter melon then they may baffle - pollinate with each other which is not bad forlandrace horticulture . Only grow one variety show if you require to economise seed from only that mixture .
Growing Bitter Melon Summary
Plants involve protract ardent conditions to turn well in the northerly cerebral hemisphere . Start your seed indoors to help give your plant a headstart and try uprise this delicacy in your garden this season !
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