Momordica charantia

Bitter Melon

Bitter melon is grown like a cucumber, squash or any other cucurbita , except that it requires subtropical conditions. The fruit is spherical, and warty, and if left unpicked ripens from green to yellow to orange, and eventually splits to reveal bright red flesh containing seeds. If harvested the fruit is bitter, but used a lot in Asian cooking.

Contributed by @joy4todd

plant Features

Full sun
Frequent watering
Not Frost hardy
Moist and fertile

plant information

Common name

Bitter Melon

Latin name

Momordica charantia

type

Vegetable

family

Cucurbitaceae

ph

5.5 - 6.8 Acid - Neutral

Light

Full sun
Frost

Not Frost hardy

Soil

Moist and fertile
Water

Frequent watering

Plant & bloom calendar

Best time to plant
When to harvest

full grown dimensions

The size of a fully grown Bitter Melon is 2.00meters x 0.50meters

2.00 M 0.50 M

Momordica charantia

Propagating by seed

From Early Spring TO Late Spring

Prepare a bed or hill in a sunny site where the soil is fertile. Make planting pockets 3' apart by digging a hole a spade-depth, width and height, and filling with compost and well-rotted manure, then sow a seed on edge in each pocket. at a depth of about 1" after all danger of frost has passed.. Or sow the seeds singly in pots in the greenhouse, and plant out after they have their first true leaves

Planting

From Mid Spring TO Early Summer

After seeds grown indoors have their first true leaves plant the seedlings out into a prepared bed in the greenhouse or in a container to be grown in a conservatory - or outdoors if a high temperature can be maintained - this is a tropical plant, and needs tropical conditions!. Plant in full sun, and ensure the plant gets plenty of water

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