Bitter Melon Live Plant - 2 Vetgetable Live Plants - Non GMO- Two (2) Live Plants - Not Seeds - in 3.5" Pots

Description

The Bittermelon plant also known as the bitter gourd or bitter squash, is one of the most popular vegetables in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, India and the Philippines. It is a beautiful tall trellising plant with deeply lobed leaves and a wondrous eye-catching fruit that grow from pale green to yellow to orange as it ripens. Despite its beauty, it is an acquired taste as it is bitterer than an unripe grapefruit or very dark chocolate. Most people find the first taste is a mouth-puckering experience. The fruit is most often eaten green, or as it is beginning to turn yellow. At this time the fruit's flesh is crunchy and watery in texture, similar to pepper or cucumber, but bitter. As the fruit ripens, the flesh (rind) becomes tougher too bitter to be eaten. The pith (inside) becomes sweet and intensely red; it can be eaten uncooked in this state, and is a popular ingredient in some Southeast Asian salads. This melon is worth acquiring a taste for as it serves a nutritional punch, offering iron, twice the beta carotene of broccoli, twice the potassium of bananas, and twice the calcium of spinach. It also contains high amounts of fiber, phosphorous, and Vitamins C, B1, B2, and B3. It is used as a preventive cure for malaria, and helps maintain health in diabetics along with many other herbal remedies. Place plants 9-10 feet apart in a sunny location (at least 6 hours of sunlight). Bittermelon needs a fertile well-draining soil with ample watering. Mulching around the plant will help retain the soil moisture that this plant needs. This plant produces vines 13-16 feet long and will need trellis fencing to support the plant and the fruits(as the fruits will rot in the moist soil). Expect harvest in 60 days-from seeding