Bitter Melon – 2 Seeds

Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia), is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family. It is also known as bitter gourd, balsam pear, pare, or karela. It is a widely grown for its edible fruit in Asia, East Africa, India, and South America. It is a climbing vine whose leaves and green fruits have also been used in traditional medicine to fight cancer, diabetes and many infectious diseases.

Each plant bears separate yellow male and female flowers. It is orange or dark yellow when ripe, splitting open to reveal the seeds which along with pith appear white in unripe fruits, then ripening to red. The fruit has a distinct warty exterior and an oblong shape. It is hollow in cross-section, with a relatively thin layer of flesh surrounding a central seed cavity filled with large, flat seeds and pith. The fruit is most often eaten green, or as it is beginning to turn yellow. At this stage, the fruit’s flesh is crunchy and watery in texture, similar to  cucumber, chayote or green bell pepper, but bitter. The skin is tender and edible.

Common Names: Bitter Gourd, Bitter Melon, Bitter Cucumber, Balsam Pear, Leprosy Gourd, La-kwa, Peria Laut, Goya, Bitter apple, Bitter squash and karavila.

Medicinal Benefits

Bitter melon is traditionally known for its medicinal properties such as antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammation, antivirus, and cholesterol lowering effects. It contains many phenolic compounds that may have the potential as antioxidant and antimutagen.

Culinary Uses

While technically a fruit, bitter melon is eaten as a vegetable and incorporated into dishes to add an acidic flavor. Bitter melon is generally consumed cooked in the green or early yellowing stage. The young shoots and leaves of the bitter melon may also be eaten as greens.

Growing Bitter Melon

Indoor Sowing: Late Winter / Early Spring.

Direct Sowing:  Spring and Summer.

• The plants prefer full sun, warm days and nights, and a trellis as a single vine can easily cover 10 square feet.
• Soak seeds overnight before planting. Pour very warm water in a jar and drop the seeds in there, allow to soak overnight, then plant the next day.
• Seeds can be sown in Spring or Summer.
• Sow the seeds about 1/2 inch deep in good potting soil or in a composted hill of garden soil.
• Keep the soil moist and very warm until germination, which takes about a week.
• Thin or transplant to 3 plants per hill and space hills 6 feet apart.