The Momordica charantia or bitter melon, known by various names, is a tropical vegetable from the cucurbit family. In Asia it is a popular remedy for various ailments. The unripe fruits are processed into delicious vegetable dishes.
How do I properly care for bitter melon plants?
To plant bitter melon successfully, you should grow it in a greenhouse or in a mild area, provide moist soil, trellis, water regularly, fertilize and harvest unripe fruit - ideal for vegetable dishes and medicinal products.
In Asia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean, bitter gourd, also known as bitter gourd or balsam pear, is specifically grown as a crop, while in the southeast of the United States it is almost considered a weed.
The right location for the bitter melon
In its tropical homeland, the bitter melon grows in warm, humid places, which you can probably hardly offer it. Therefore, growing it outdoors is difficult in this country. It is most likely to succeed in a mild area. On the other hand, bitter melon thrives quite well in the greenhouse. The soil should be able to hold the required moisture well.
Like all cucurbits, the bitter melon forms long tendrils and requires a correspondingly large amount of space. You can also grow the plant very decoratively on trellises, similar to snake cucumbers. Grown as a container plant, a climbing aid is essential for the bitter melon.
How should I care for my bitter melon?
The bitter melon is not considered winter hardy, so it does not belong outdoors before the ice saints. If you have bought seeds, you should prefer to plant them in a warm apartment or in a heated greenhouse.
Water the bitter melon regularly, it needs a lot of moisture, but the soil should not be too wet. About once a week, give the fast-growing plant a little fertilizer (€3.00 on Amazon). Special fertilizer for vegetable plants or well-rotted compost are well suited. The fruits are harvested while still unripe.
The most important things in brief:
- prefers moist soil
- can be grown on trellises
- Growing outdoors a bit difficult
- can be grown well in a greenhouse
- Flowering time about 5 weeks after sowing
- Harvest time approximately one to 3 weeks after flowering (unripe fruits)
- Fruits are harvested unripe
- contains a lot of bitter substances
- used as a medicine
- Possible healing effect: against cancer, fungi and viruses, lowers blood sugar, protects the stomach
- Side effects of overdose: abdominal pain, diarrhea, mild blood poisoning
- Pregnant women should not eat bitter melon!
Tip
The bitter melon is only suitable to a limited extent as an outdoor plant. You can try growing in a mild area, otherwise growing in a greenhouse is recommended.
