You can never post too many photos!

How long have your vines been producing fruit?

Hi Violet,
They started producing (mature fruit) 2 weeks ago. About approx. 85 days after I sowed/started the seeds indoors. I have 3 diff varieties.

Beautiful!!

I have some seed and if I am going to have any this year, I think I need to get them in the ground...thanks for the pictures.

Hmmmmmmm...ya making me hungry!

Thanks for the pics! Post more :D

win

Wish my plants would produce fruits...only harvested one so far. Maybe it is too hot for it to fruit?

Hi piksi_hk,

Bitter melon loves heat. In India the region where I come grom, it even produces during summer when the temperatures hover around 110 deg F and the humidity is over 90%. Are you also in California ?

-saila

saila & piksi_hk,

I believe it depends on the variety and what those seeds have been acclimated to. If I send seeds to five people in different parts of the world of different environments and they successfully manage to grow a few fruit and let it go to seed and save the seeds from year to year, over 10 years, the variety will be the same but each will have acclimated slowly over time to adjust for their environmental conditions. So yes piksi_hk, heat can be a reason why yours is not producing fruit. Also keep in mind that it takes a long time for them to get going. But once they start producing, you'll have more than you know what to do with!

Here are some pictures of mine.I have harvested at least 25 or so fruits already and still producing. Fruits range in size from 12 to 16 inches. I had a couple that were close to 18 inches. All organic. No pesticides. I have 2 colors. The light skinned ones and the darker green ones.

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Hi, I've just sown some bitter melon seeds indoors in a heated propagator. this is my first time growing them and I'm wondering - should I have filed the seeds or soaked them first?
Love all the gorgeous pictures gardenfreak and sailamint! Hope I can get a harvest like yours!
I live in London, England - not sure what region that is equivalent to.

Filing or soaking helps improve the germination rate, so if you only have a small amount of seed, I recommend it... but not if the seed has already been planted. The heated propagator will be helpful, since they require warm soil temperatures to germinate.

If I'm not mistaken, London has cool summers much like our Pacific Northwest. Bitter melon prefers warmer temps, so you might want to grow it on a south-facing wall for extra heat, or give it shelter from the wind. Once established, it can take a few cool days... but if nights drop much below 10 degrees C. for any length of time, the vines will stop growing until warmth returns.

As a seed saver, I normally recommend open-pollinated vegetable varieties; but for cool-tolerant bitter melon, you might be better off with one of the commercial hybrids.
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Chinese hybrid bitter melon
Wisconsin is warmer than the Pacific Northwest, but has fairly cool summers. With transplants, a good harvest is still possible. The plants below are 24 inches (apart, and are nearly 2 meters tall on the trellis.
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hi sailamint,

Bitter melon looks quite healthy. Good pictures too. Keep posting pictures for all the harvest that you make. This actually inspires rest of us. How is Gongoora coming up? Are you growing Gongoora this year?

aaaaaa

Thanks zeedman,that was really helpful. I bought the seeds from Seeds of India (USA) as I couldn't find a supplier in the UK. I love the pictures,by the way - especially the "wall" of bitter melon. I'm only growing 3 plants as my garden's tiny!
are the marigolds to keep aphids off your plants?

Hello aaaa,

Thanks for your comments on the bitter melon. I am growing gongura this year along with amaranth. I got a late start on the bitter melon this year though. My seeds just sprouted.

-saila

I am too late to grow bitter melons this year, but definitely plan to grow them next year, especially after seeing all those wonderful photos of sailamint, zeedman and gardenfreak. Keep up the lovely photos which I am sure inspire others also.

When do I start the Bitter Melons indoor and how?

Also would like to grow Snake Gourd (Cobra). When do I start them? Any tips?

Thanks

Caroline

Greetings to all,
Love the pictures... I am also growing the bitter melon... There are 4 plants planted them at individual places and currently supported with a pole. How should I support these, as they continue to grow. I can't see much from the pictures, as all are covered by the leaves.. and what kind of fertilizer do you use... By the way. I am staying in Malaysia...Thank you in advance...

Uhh, it tastes bitter. The first time I ate it, I can't even swallow. But as it can help to lose weight, I tried some bitter melon powder instead.

Here is a link that might be useful: place I bought the bitter melon powder from

Hi

I'm new here. I started growing bitter melons this year and have some melons at different stages of growth. My problem is I don't know when to harvest the melons. I grew my bitter melons from the seeds that I collected when I bought bitter melon from an Asian market. I love bitter melons so I'm so thrilled to see them growing so well.

Here is a picture of my first bitter melon. The back trellis is 6 1/2 feet tall and the top trellis is 8 feet long. This plant is taking over this section of my yard. But it is producing very well, I expect over 50 melons.

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Jeffery, that is beautiful. I love the horizontal trellis, that lets the fruit hang down. The vines sure seem to like that wall!

My neighbor has their own bitter melon waterfall too. I never knew that these plants grew like this.

Awesome photos!

How do I harvest, save and plant seeds gathered from fresh bitter melons? How can I collect the seeds now and save them until spring? Or can they be planted fresh?

One of my favorite ways to prepare bitter melons (called karela in Hindi) is to slice them into thin rounds and bake them in the oven until crispy. Sprinkle with salt, chili powder and turmeric, then enjoy. Tasty!

To save seeds from bitter melon, they must be allowed to ripen on the vine. Seed from bitter melons picked green will not be viable, even if the melon appears to ripen later. When ripe, they turn orange or yellow & split open. The seeds will be clearly visible, surrounded by a sticky, bright red pulp. If some fall on the ground, no problem... the pulp & any dirt attached to it will be removed during cleaning.

If the red pulp is fairly dry, you can just place the seeds on newspaper to dry, preferably under a fan (ceiling fans work well for this). When the pulp has dried, it can be peeled off easily, leaving clean seed.

If the pulp is very wet (like those I grew this year) or if there are a lot of seeds, you can clean them in a colander under running water. Rub the seeds between your fingers to remove the pulp. When cleaning seeds in water, be sure to dry them promptly.

Regardless of the method used to clean the seeds, they must be fully dry before storage. For me, this is easy; I leave them in trays on shelves until December or January, when the indoor humidity is low. All of my seeds will be dried to the proper moisture level at that time.

For those in warmer, more humid climates, or if the home tends to have humid air, ambient drying may not be enough. The seeds can be further dried with a dehydrator, or by the use of desiccant gel in a sealed container. If using desiccant, a good rule of thumb is to weigh the seeds, and use an equal weight of desiccant.

Once the seeds have been properly dried, they can be placed in any air-tight container for storage. Store them in a cool, dark location.

I planted my bittermelon seed around October and didn't make it. Not because it was too late but because something chewed on the leaves (some insect that comes out at night to nibble on the leaves). Anyways, I planted seeds that came from bittermelon purchased at a local Filipino market.

Anyways, I disagree with what zeedman says about needing the bittermelon to be super ripe and on the vine before you can harvest the seeds, dry them and use them next year.

Here is some info about growing bitter melons in Zone-7.

http://yourhomegardenblog.com/vegetable-gardening/how-to-grow-exotic-and-delicious-bitter-melons-on-your-backyard

And some pictures:

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Here is a link that might be useful: http://yourhomegardenblog.com/vegetable-gardening/how-to-grow-exotic-and-delicious-bitter-melons-on-your-backyard

I love bittermelon but cannot tolerate the bitterness and so I remove it's bitterness by drenching it in salt, squeeze out the juice, rinse and then pickle them. You can eat them immediately after. Great with grilled seafood and pork.