Bitter Gourds, Bitter Melon, Momordica Charantia，苦瓜

Bitter Melon, Bitter Gourds, Momordica Charantia，苦瓜

Cuisine Plants,  Fruits, Veggies, Aroma Spices and Herbs Gardening:  Bitter Gourds, 苦瓜，

Momordica Charantia

Momordica charantia is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit. Its many varieties differ substantially in the shape and bitterness of the fruit.

Minimum plant base per Stalk: 

    30 × 30 × 20 cm (  Volume = 0.3×0.3×0.2 = 0.018 meters³  =  18 Litre )

    soil volume (liters) 15–20 L

            40% soil
        + 40% compost
        + 20% sand  

    

    Shallow wide tub;

    can grow with ginger at soil;
    leafy greens on top or edge;
    fast harvest.

    

    Need 4–6 h sun lights

20251115 Saturday cooling morning 

Transplanted long beans stalks

About six inches height, havin

  

20251109 Transplanted bitter gourds 

It is better to wait till their tendrils come out then Transplant. 

20251109 9 am  Sunday hot morning 

Cut out the coriander root from the bunch bought from Sheng Song.  

Buried them with an egg and a over ripe banana.  Cover up with black pot. 

20251109 10 am Sunday hot morning 

transplanted bitter gourds today

Selected the fattest tallest strongest. 

Prepare to use hydro tub for the balance seedlings. 

this black container with holes sitting inside a white tub is a basic Deep Water Culture (DWC)–style hydroponic setup, or what’s sometimes called a “passive hydro box”. 

It’s simple, effective, and well suited for testing bitter gourd and leafy vegetables.

20241028 Monday 1124 Sunny

It grows.  But no clue what "gua". Got to wait and see. 

20211209 Thursday 1000 hot morning 

Day 

20211019 Tuesday 1000 Hot Morning.  

Added in seeds for .小苦瓜

Day 1 seedlings 

20211004 Monday 1600 Sunny Afternoon.

Added in seeds of small bitter gourds.

20200913

20200923

First Harvest

20200804

20200224

Bitter Gourds Seedlings

20210809 Monday 

Happy 56th National Day

Bitter Gourds Seedlings

20200615 Bitter Gourds Seedlings

__________

Malabar Spinach, (Basella Albay), 木耳菜，

Malabar spinach (Basella alba or Basella rubra) ，

木耳菜，

____________________

20251115 Saturday 8.30 am Cooling morning 

20251103 Tuesday 1500 27 C  after rain. 

20220223 Wednesday 0600  Cooling Morning   

Harvested one plate this MorningAfter coming from jogging. still in  the dark dawn.

20220113 Thursday 1900 hot afternoon 

2 weeks' growth

采收后

采收前

    

20211129 Monday 0900 Sunny Morning

Harvested for dinner.

20211116 Tuesday 1500 sunny afternoon

Trim for diner.

20211016 Saturday 0800 Good Morning.  

20211005 Tuesday 0700 good morning

20210922 Wednesday 0849 raining morning. 

Dropped all-black ripe seeds onto the lower pot.  

And they start growing.

Raining season

20210824 Tuesday 1030 hrs

Heavy rain

Seeds,  seeds,  dropping,  dropping!!!

20210814 Saturday 7.50 am

trim lor ...

  

____________________

20210813 Friday 8.00 am

大木耳菜

Malabar Spinach, (Basella Albay)

When the seeds are ripe, it becomes black.  

Let it drop down to the stack below it and they will start growing by themself.

Malabar Spinach, (Basella Albay) is a tropical edible/ornamental perennial herbaceous/foliage vine, that can be easily found in the Tropical Region of China, India, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Africa.  It can run up to 10 meters in length with a given time frame.

Malabar Spinach is usually eaten raw in Salad.  Leaves are soft and tasty for quick stir-fried with Oyster Sauce as well or even been cooked in the soup.  The stems are mucilaginous.  

Harvest the leaves before they start growing their flowers.   Once the plants grow out with the flowers, the leaves become bitter.  Always keep the soil constantly moist to prevent the vines from developing their flowers.  a balanced and slow-release of fertilizer is best for this plant.

Their seeds germinate best within three weeks with the soils' temperature is in between 18°C and 24°C  (65°F and 75°F), best grown in the summer.

   

Malabar spinach is high in Vitamin A (100 grams contains roughly 8,000 units), Vitamin C, iron, and calcium. It has a high amount of protein for a plant and is also a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium.

It has a good amount of antioxidants, particularly beta carotene and lutein, those naturally occurring chemicals that help keep your cells from aging. Rubra seems to be slightly higher in antioxidants, probably due to the purple color.

Malabar spinach can be used raw, in salads, or as a stand-alone vegetable. You can also use it like spinach in soups and stews. Steamed Malabar spinach is great and will yield more than conventional spinach due to its fleshy nature.

____________________

20210207

Malabar Spinach, (Basella Albay)

It is also known as Ceylon Spinach, Indian Spinach,  Climbing Spinach.

Other common names include Vine Spinach, Red Vine Spinach, Creeping Spinach, and Ceylon Spinach.

学名： 木耳菜

别称：  潺菜、落葵、豆腐菜、紫角叶，菊三七属植物。

味：    甘酸

性：    寒

归：     心、肝、脾、大肠、小肠经. 

功效： 具有清热、解毒、滑肠、润燥、凉血、生肌的功效. 

多年生高大草本，高1.5-2米。花果期 9- 月。

木耳菜以幼苗、嫩梢或嫩叶供食，质地柔嫩软滑，营养价值高。

木耳菜的食用方法：

可作汤菜、爆炒、烫食、凉拌等，其味清香，咀嚼时如吃木耳一般清脆爽口，故名木耳菜。

其在南北方普遍栽培，在南方热带地区可多年生栽培，在北方多采用一年生栽培。

20211225 Saturday 1600

种植木耳菜，须及时采收。

   

木耳菜的人群宜忌. 食物相克表. 

适宜人群:  一般人群都适合吃，特别是高血压、肝病、便秘、老年人可以适当多吃. 

禁忌人群:  孕妇及脾胃虚寒者慎食. 

          

____________________

Beans n Lentils, Seedlings, 无架豆， 长豆， 扁豆，

Beans n Lentils Seedlings

20251126 0730 good morning 

The main vine will keep growing in length.  It  only transports water and nutrients to side branches,  it does not produce fruit.

When the height is at about 70 cm to 1 meter, trim off the tip to allow it to channels it's energy to side branches.  Those side arms are the vine that produce fruits. 

90 cm 

20251122 Saturday germinating new seeds. 

Bury the seeds in the seedling tray

Compost

Cocopeat

Moss

Keep only moist, spray mist every morning, best 6.38 am to 8 am. 

Do not wet the soil. 

Heavy fruit seeds

Soak 4 hours to six hours, not longer than that, to prevent rot. 

Light weight fruit seeds

Soak 1 hour, not longer than that to prevent rot. 

20251115 1400 hot afternoon. 

Try germinating seeds with styrofoam cube as well. 

20251103 Tuesday 1500 27 C  after rain. 

Long beans. 

New seedlings in the pot. 

20211015 Friday 1300 hot afternoon.   

Green been sprouts.

20211002 Saturday 0800 good morning.

Planted 19 sprouting Dou Miao seeds into this pot today.

To germinate bean seeds, you need to soak them in the water wrapped with wet paper towels for a few days.

龙须菜 豆苗种子

20211015 Friday 1300 hot afternoon.   

Green been sprouts.

20210925 Saturday 0800 good morning.

无架长豆角

Day 1 seedlings

20211002 Saturday 0800 good morning.

无架长豆角

Harvested two times

Skinny one?

20210924 Thursday 1000 sunny morning.

Harvest

20210818 Wednesday 4.15 pm

10 days seedlings

Bean is growing fast

20200814 Tuesday 7.45 am

day 8 seedlings

discovered long beans sprouting

_______________________

20200809 Monday 3.10 pm

Happy 56th National Day

Beans n Cucumbers Seedlings

Loosen the soils

Put in few seeds into each pot.

Cover the seeds with the soils,

Add in some new soils.

Pour in water.

Job has been done for today.
_____________________