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Old March 6, 2017   #18
KC.Sun
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: 6a
Posts: 322
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I'm not sure about toxicity or if it's a myth. I grew up eating bitter melon. We like the ripe and non ripe versions. My family really like those that start to ripen but are not mushy for the rib dish.

Using about 15lbs bitter melon broiling with ribs or in a pressure cooker with some black bean sauce and you're in heaven.

If you soak it in salt water, it helps reduce the bitterness. You can just boil it and make a tea also.

It's supposed to be really good regulating blood sugar levels.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeedman View Post
Yes, very productive. I even let one fruit on each plant go for seed, and it does not appear to slow production.



I usually grow a 24-30' row, with plants spaced about 24" apart. The photo above is one picking, during peak production. .. so you can probably estimate from that how many plants you will need. In my climate, they are best started as transplants.

In my experience, productivity varies widely, depending upon variety. The Chinese cultivar above, and a very bitter cultivar from Thailand with small, spiky fruit, are the most productive. Another Chinese cultivar I grew was less productive - but the top-shaped melons were up to one pound each!

Your comments on eating the ripe fruit are interesting. Most of the references I've seen - including advice from Filipino friends - says that the ripe fruit becomes toxic; perhaps pressure cooking neutralizes that. The stage of ripeness you mention is very short lived, they can literally turn to mush in 2-3 days.
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