Have you ever tried Indian cucumber? And a rabid melon, a crocodile cucumber or a balsamic pear? If not, do not despair: all these names belong to a single plant. And correctly it is called momordica and, despite its tropical origin, is gradually mastering the mid-lane territories. Let’s figure out why this is happening and why we need this exotic.
Description of the plant
Momordica is a genus of plants in the Cucurbitaceae family. There are annual and perennial species in this family, 59 of which are widely distributed mainly in Africa and about 12 in Southeast Asia. All of them are lianas — most behave very aggressively and are considered weeds in agricultural production.
Momordica charantia and M. balsamina are most often grown in culture. These species are monoecious and produce edible fruits. Another cultivated species is M. cochinchinensis, a dioecious plant that is valued and cultivated in China and Vietnam to produce an oil with many medicinal properties.
In horticulture, Momordica charantia is the most popular, having many varieties. The vine can grow up to 4 m, has tendrils like cucumbers, and beautiful 5-9-lobed leaves. Pretty soon, simple yellow flowers with a delicate aroma appear — first male, and later female, smaller ones.
The fruits are elongated, depending on the variety, they can look like a cylinder, a spindle or a lemon and reach 35 cm in length. The surface of the fruit is bumpy, furrowed, often resembles the tail of a crocodile, but it also happens to be smooth.
Unripe fruits are green. When ripe, they turn yellow or turn orange, eventually burst and unfold with three petals outwards. Inside there are “berries” — seeds in a juicy shell of bright red color. The taste of the ripe shell is similar to zucchini, but with bitterness. “Berries” taste like persimmons, but less sweet.
How to grow momordica
Many have probably already guessed that this plant is most similar to a cucumber, therefore, the cultivation techniques are similar. In the conditions of the middle band, it is better to use the seedling method.
Sowing for seedlings
Seeds for seedlings are sown from the end of March to the end of April, depending on the climatic conditions of their region and the estimated place of cultivation. You need to focus on the fact that plants will spend about a month at your home before planting in a permanent place. As a rule, the germination of fresh seeds is quite high, but for reliability (and if there is very little seed material), it is recommended to pre-soak them for a day in warm water (about +30 ° C) and germinate on a damp cloth. To help the seed to hatch, it is advisable to carry out scarification before soaking — a violation of the hard shell. This can be done, for example, with a nail file, carefully cutting off the “spout”.
The germinated seeds are sown in a light moisture-intensive substrate (suitable soil for cucumbers) to a depth of 1.5-2 cm and arrange a mini-greenhouse (can be placed in a plastic bag). Plants are sensitive to root damage, so it is better to avoid them by taking peat cups with a diameter of at least 10 cm. So it will be possible to plant seedlings in a permanent place without removing them.
The seeds germinate on the 10th-14th day at room temperature. After the emergence of seedlings, the shelter is removed, but at first the sprouts need to be periodically sprayed with water. The soil should always be in a stable moist state (but not flooded), plants are contraindicated drafts and sudden temperature changes.
Landing on a permanent place
Momordica is grown both in the open ground, and in a greenhouse, and as a container plant, there are also varieties for indoor breeding. It is best for this culture — in a shelter, where there is high humidity and there is protection from the wind. In the open ground, momordica prefers sunny places with shading at noon. In the shade, the plant will be sick and will not bear fruit.
Seedlings should be planted in a permanent place only after the threat of recurrent frosts has passed, and the soil has warmed up well enough. You can focus on the time of planting cucumber seedlings: for the middle band, this is usually the end of May — beginning of June. By this time, momordica plants should have 5 real leaves and grow to 20-25 cm .
This crop is grown mostly for decorative purposes and therefore planted next to fences, gazebos or open verandas, which the vine can use as a support. Otherwise, you will need to make a trellis with a grid or ropes so that momordica can cling to them.
The distance between plants should be 80-90 cm. We dig holes a little larger than a seedling pot, throw a couple of handfuls of humus at the bottom and spill it. We transfer and plant seedlings, cover them with earth, water them again and generously mulch them with straw, dried grass or other material that retains moisture well. It is advisable to plant in the evening or in cloudy weather, and if the days are sunny, it is advisable to shade young plants so that their leaves do not burn out of habit.
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