A step by step guide to Growing Kakarakaya/Bitter Gourds. Most growers recommend spacing in hills 6 feet apart in rows at least 4 feet apart. How long does it take for bitter melon seeds to germinate? Pre-wet your Bitter gourd seed starting mix with water before you start sowing seeds. Soaking the Bitter gourd seeds before sowing helps them to germinate faster. Bitter melon, which is also called bitter gourd or karela is a vegetable which belongs to the family of cucumber. The plant grows similarly to cucumbers, squash, and watermelon. Insects, particularly bees, pollinate flowers. Cucumber beetles are the most common pest and they are the ones which carry bacteria which will cause permanent damage to the vines of the plant. You can use seeds from a previous crop, or buy them from your local nursery. Avoid watering from overhead sprinklers, water plants close to the soil, and avoid splashing plant leaves with water. Season for Growing Bitter Gourd. Also, follow the instructions on the package so that you will not cause any harm to your plants. Fill about 5 inch deep biodegradable starter pots with potting soil, leaving the top 3/4 inch empty. Bitter gourd which is scientifically called as Momordica charantia is a tropical vine. In case if you miss this: Growing Sugarcane in Pots from Cuttings. First, find a warm sunny spot on your terrace. You can also parboil the bitter gourd for decreasing the bitterness, but it may also change the texture of the fruit. Once scarified, the seeds should be dunked in boiling water for no more than four seconds, and then drained on a sheet of paper towel for a few minutes before sowing. On raised beds, sow two seeds per pot in a spacing of about 3 x 3 ft. Push the seeds a little in a soil medium with your fingers and completely cover them with the surrounding soil. You can also consider growing bitter gourd in a greenhouse for the prevention of damage caused by frost. Growing Bitter gourd in pots is easy. It has deeply lobed leaves and grows in a fashion … You have entered an incorrect email address! The plant will then start producing side branches and yield more flowers and fruits at a quicker pace. This is a vegetable which grows very fast and it’s native is South Asia. Make sure that you are using the fruit 3 to 5 days after the harvesting is done. Moringa Plantation, Care, Harvesting (Munaga), Aquaponics Technique, Advantages and Care, Growing Salad Greens Indoors – A Full Guide, Growing Hydroponic Chilli, Requirements, Benefits, Growing Malabar Spinach from Seeds (Bachali Kura), Raised Bed Gardening Ideas, Techniques, Tips, Growing Vanda Seedlings, Propagation, Plant Care, Bottle Gourd Terrace Gardening (Louki) Ideas, Tips, Growing Oregano, Planting, Care, and Harvesting. You’ll need about 12 inches deep pot and a sturdy trellis. Plant bitter melon where it receives at least 6 hours of sunshine. Dig a hole in the soil in your garden by making use of your finger and then drop the bitter gourd seeds inside. You can even grow bitter melon in your baloney or terrace in a container or any pot. Seed Rate Growing Bitter Gourd. Within 6 to 8 weeks after the germination, you’ll see the blossoms, and in the next 2-3 weeks, fruits will appear and are ready to be picked. Bitter gourd is prone to the same diseases which affect squash and cucumbers. What are we waiting for?, let us get into growing Kakarakaya for having a healthy lifestyle. in length. The long varietals may then be ready when only 16-18 inches (41-46 cm. Gourds take about 180 days total from planting till they produce ripe fruit, as a result of their extra long germination process. Bitter gourd seeds have a hardcover and pre-soaking the seeds overnight before sowing those help in faster germination. The fruit has to be paired with garlic or any spicy peppers to cover the bitter flavors of the bitter gourd. That’s all folks about growing Kakarakaya in the home garden or outdoor garden. The holes have to be covered with soil and sprinkle some amount of water on top. Plants which are completely yellow in color and also soft to touch are overripe. The soil has to be watered so that it is moist up to a half-inch below the soil surface. Now, the hole has to be covered by making use of topsoil. You will have to make use of a balanced fertilizer which has N-P-K all across the growing season. Store seeds in a cool, dry spot. Bitter gourd seeds can be purchased online or in garden shops. It grows slightly acidic to the slightly alkaline soil. Bitter Melon Growing Seasons Bitter melon is a summer growing vegetable. Once fruiting begins, it can become a routine job to keep on picking, which helps to avoid the Bitter gourd plant becoming overwhelmed. The sprouts started in 5 days and then waited for 3 more days before transplanting the sprouts into a container. Bitter melon seeds are best started indoors in a pot of sandy, well-drained compost. Water the pot thoroughly, while simultaneously avoiding soggy, waterlogged conditions which can stunt growth. Female flowers will have stems which are knobby green and yellow petals. Check your Bitter gourd plants for signs of powdery mildew, downy mildew, rust, watermelon mosaic virus, bacterial wilt, and the cucumber mosaic virus. You can also choose to dry the gourds out, harvest the seeds from them, or give them as treats to the outdoor critters. Water your plants deeply at least once a week. You can also purchase bitter gourd seeds online. Seeds will germinate slowly in 3 to 4 weeks if you directly sow them without pre-treatment, especially at low temperatures. Make use of the soil which is rich in terms of organic material, loamy and sandy. Also known as bitter gourd or balsam pear, bitter melons are harvested prior to seed hardening and are of a uniform pale green with a warty appearance. Leaving it too long on the plant makes it fibrous and then it can not be consumed. Then put them in a tissue paper-like shown here and then spray some water over this. First, take some Bitter gourd seeds and soak them for at least 12 hours in water. Step 4: The bitter gourd plant has to be transplanted after about two leaves have appeared on its shoot. Fortunately, there is no mistaking when bitter melon seeds are ready for the sowing process because the fruit dries out, splits open and reveals the shiny, crimson seeds against a golden yellow background. Make sure that you are applying an insecticide for the prevention of infestation of insects. As its name suggests, bitter melon is a fruit that is part of the watermelon, cucumber, and squash family, and, is also extremely bitter. Although a few hours of partial shade is fine across the day, bitter gourd would love to grow in a location which receives full sun. It isn’t as common to eat gourd in the West, but it is quite common in other countries. 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