Bitter gourd is a summer vegetable plant that grows very well in tropical to subtropical regions. This plant grows as a vine so you will need to provide support to this plant to grow. Bitter gourd originated in India and is known widely for the health benefits of the fruit of this plant.
Botanical Name: Momordica charantia
Family: Cucurbitaceae
The vine of this plant can grow to 16 feet in length with alternate bearing leaves and produces both male and female flowers on the same plant. To get a higher yield from this plant you can try 3G cutting.
READ MORE: HOW TO GROW BITTER GOURD
You can visit this link to understand the complete guide to grow this plant. In this article, I am going to share the easy, fast, and efficient method to grow bitter gourd from seeds.
I have recently tried this method and got success, 4 out of 5 seeds germinated and the one is still kept for germination. The whole process is very simple and fast that you can easily try this in your home to grow this plant from seeds.
They can be germinated twice in a year, first in February to March and second in July to August in India.
Materials Required:
- High-Quality disease-resistant seeds,
- Fig Tree leaf or Banana Leaf,
- Thin jute rope or thread,
- Water glass,
- Piece of cloth,
- and a germination tray or any small container with good drainage holes.
- Vermicompost or Vegetable compost
- Garden soil
You can start by purchasing high-quality seeds from the market that is viable to be germinated in the required season. Do not purchase old, open or damaged seeds. Old or damaged seeds take a longer time to germinate or sometimes they fail to germinate.
Soak the seeds for at least 72 hours in water. You will notice that the outer covering of the seeds partially opened. This is the perfect stage to take them out of the water.
If few or all seeds have not opened yet then let them in water for another 12 hours. Keep checking in the meanwhile if they have opened partially or not. Take out the partially opened seeds out of the water.
Keep these seeds outside for 5 minutes and then place them on a fig tree leaf or banana leaf, sprinkle few drops of water, and close the leaf completely. Tie the leaf gently with jute rope or any thread and cover it with the cloth properly.
Keep this leaf seed set up in a dark place and do not disturb it for 3 days. Open the whole setup after 3 days and you will notice germinated seeds.
READ MORE: HOW TO GROW BOTTLE GOURD FROM SEEDS
READ MORE: HOW TO GROW CUCUMBER FROM SEEDS
In case your seeds have not germinated then keep this leaf seed set up back in the same position as it was kept earlier and wait for 2 more days before opening again. Sometimes if the seeds are not of good quality take more time to germinate.
In the meanwhile prepare your potting mix with 50% sandy loam soil + 50% vermicompost and mix it thoroughly. If you do not have sandy loam soil then add 10% sand in the mixture. Pour the potting mix in the germination container.
Place your seeds one by one in each container by keeping the roots downwards. Do this process carefully by not disturbing the roots. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of potting mix and apply water in the container gently.
Keep the germination container in partial shade and maintain the adequate moisture in the container. In 3 to 5 days, you will notice new seedlings developing from the seeds. Do not overwater as it can harm your seedling.
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