Bitter Melon

Bitter Melon is a vining species, climbing over 200cm. Produces rubber-like fruits with soft spines. Ripen from green to yellow to orange as fully ripe. When fully ripe the fruits open from the bottom, showing the shiny red seeds. There are different varieties with longer fruits, round fruits, and also different tastes in bitterness. Used for cooking and its medicinal properties in the Caribbean, Africa, Southeast Asia, and China. Weedy, bitter flavor. Harvest as green and unripe. Momordica charantia. 7seeds/pack

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.