Lesson 6.4.1 BITTER MELON – Cultivation

 

FOOD FOREST COURSE AGRO-ECONOMY

Lesson 6.4.1 BITTER MELON – Cultivation

 

Cultivation

The bitter melon vine needs a trellis to support it and it should be about two metres high. Stakes should be about two metres apart with a series of horizontal supports every metre. The plants should be planted about 60cm apart.

 

A deep well-drained sandy loam or silt loam is ideal, but any decent agricultural soil will give good results. Maintaining even moisture in the top eighteen inches of the soil is important for steady growth as most of the roots will be located there. On a commercial scale direct seeding is practiced but the bitter melon will grow well enough in a pot before planting out. This is only to ensure germination. Do make sure the plant is carefully handled to avoid any root damage though. When seeded in warm moist soil the seed should germinate in about a week or less and the first male flowers should emerge in five weeks with the first female flowers emerging ten days later.

Bitter melon is susceptible to pests that affect the cucurbit family and this can be remedied with sulphur dust.   

The bitter melon vine does not like the cold and seed should be planted from spring onwards.

 

Harvesting

The young fruit should be harvested eight to ten days after the flowers open. Each fruit will be four to six inches in length. It helps the production of fruit set if the bitter melons are promptly picked at the right stage and a good yield is ten to twelve fruit per vine. Allow some fruit to mature for seed saving especially the first ones that come along. This will encourage the next generation to display quick growth and fruit set. When the fruit is picked, they will stay firm and fresh for about four or five days in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Text from the roots, Elisabeth Ferkonia (Aus.) PDC studied with Bill Mollison,



MORE INFOS: Be more successful with our company as consultant in AGRO-ECONOMY.  We reach 4 times more yields, click on the blog: https://atlas-development.blogspot.com

Join in on 150 lessons FOOD FOREST COURSE AGROFORESTRY you can easy start now. Click on https://food-forest-course.blogspot.com THE STANDARD you find there forever.

Find the 250 lessons, the basics of ORGANIC FARMING COURSE in fb on FAIREC forever. https:// www.facebook.com/FAIREC-Atlas-Developement-SARL-654505228040366/

Save daily 50 % water, energy, and fertilizer with us. Use also 2-wheel tractors for easy and better farming. See 70 lessons of best SUBSURFACE DRIP IRRIGATION for crops and trees Use our best T-Tape, click on the blog https://smart-farming-solutions.blogspot.com

#organicfarmer #organic #organicfarmingpractices #organicfarming #organicfarm #foodforest #syntropic #agroecology #syntropicfarming #agroeconomy #introductiontopermaculture #permacultureprinciples #creativethinking #permaculturehomesteading #regenerativefuture

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lesson 1.0 INTRODUCING - FOOD FORESTS TO FEED THE FUTURE

Image
  FOOD FOREST COURSE AGRO -ECONOMY Lesson 1.0  INTRODUCING - FOOD FORESTS TO FEED THE FUTURE As the world celebrates International Day of Forests on 21st March, one avenue to explore is the role that food forests can play in providing a rich source of nutrition for humans while enhancing biodiversity and nourishing the  soil . Forests are some of the most  productive , biodiverse and self-sustaining ecosystems on earth. Yet, deforestation, an indicator measured by the  Food Sustainability Index , destroys these rich centres of life at a rate of  10 m hectares per year . Driven by demand for monoculture crops such as  soya  (primarily for livestock feed) and  palm oil  (a widely used ingredient in food-processing and cosmetics), deforestation presents a major problem for forest ecosystems. But what if forests and food production could be reconciled in a novel way? Food forests may be the answer. Human-designed  food forests ...
Read more

INDEX 134 Lessons

Image
  FOOD FOREST COURSE   AGRO -ECONOMY THE STANDARD          INDEX 134 Lessons   CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCING:   What means Food Forest, Agroforestry (11 L.) Lesson 1.0 INTRODUCING - FOOD FORESTS TO FEED THE FUTURE Lesson 1.1 INTRODUCING - Strategy for sustainable living. Lesson 1.2 INTRODUCING - ENCOURAGE MORE IDEAS Lesson 1.3 INTRODUCING - SUPPORT-PLANTS Lesson 1.4 INTRODUCING - MULTIBLE OUTPUTS. Lesson 1.5 NINE LAYERS - choose plants for gardening Lesson 1.6 NINE LAYERS - 1, 2, 3 CONOPY and smaller trees Lesson 1.7 NINE LAYERS - 4, 5, Shrubs and Grasses Lesson 1.8 NINE LAYERS - 6, 7, FORBS, HERBS, GROUNDCOVERS Lesson 1.9 NINE LAYERS - 8, 9, Root Tubers, Fungi Lesson 1.14 INT. PROJECTS - Self-sustaining food systems     CHAPTER 2: DESIGN:   How to plan a Food Forest.(15 L.) Lesson 2.2 DESIGN - Multi - cropping Lesson 2.3 DESIGN - Inter-cropping Lesson 2.4 DESIGN - Alley cropping...
Read more

ADRESS AND INFO

Image
  Dear farmers We herewith will inform you, that we settled down in KISUMU MILIMANI near Lake Victoria, here is the best weather for Permaculture and Agroforest Farming and rain at most evenings.                        ATLAS   DEVELOPMENT  S.A.R.L  Ronald Hauck CEO  (Don Ronaldo)  WhatsApp +254 769 396 680 KENYA KISUMU MILIMANI Better Living Church access Road. VQV4-2HX don.ronaldo@gmx.de   ronald.fairec@gmail.com Consultant for business and organic farming. We also started in October the fIrst project NIGHTINGALE PERMACULTURE GARDEN MILIMANI I am registered in Morocco and worked for Ministery of Agriculture to prepaired the cost and planning for 30 new farms to get the subsidy for irrigation wells and plants.    Now i am in Kenya and will register my company here. Ndugu wakulima Tunataarifu kwamba tulikaa KISUMU MILIMANI karibu na Ziwa Victo...
Read more