Although bitter melon is bitter, it will not affect its taste when paired with any dish, and other dishes will not affect its bitter taste. Bitter melon and a gentleman are essentially the same. Therefore, bitter melon is called "gentleman's dish".
Bitter melon (scientific name: Momordica charantia?L.) is a plant of the genus Momordica of the Cucurbitaceae family. It is an annual climbing-like soft herb with many branches; the stems and branches are pubescent. Tendrils are slender and not branched. The petioles are slender; the leaves are membranous, green on the top, light green on the back, and palmate veins. Monoecious.
The pedicel of the male flower is slender and puberulent; the bracts are green and slightly ciliate; the calyx lobes are ovate-lanceolate and white pubescent; the corolla is yellow and the lobes are puberulent; the stamens are free. Female flowers are solitary, pedicel is puberulent; ovary is spindle-shaped, stigma is enlarged. The fruit is spindle-shaped or cylindrical, with many wrinkles and is orange-yellow when mature. The seeds are oblong and have grooves on both sides. The flowering and fruiting period is from May to October.
Bitter melon is native to East India and is widely cultivated in tropical to temperate regions of the world. It is commonly cultivated in both north and south China. Bitter melon fruit tastes sweet and bitter. It is mainly used as a vegetable and can also be candied. The mature pulp and arils can also be eaten.
Extended information
Bitter melon has been cultivated in India, Japan and Southeast Asia for a long time. It was introduced to Europe in the 17th century and was mostly used for ornamental purposes. In China, bitter melon has been recorded in "Materia Medica for Famine Relief" (1406) written by Zhu in the Ming Dynasty. Xu Guangqi of the Ming Dynasty wrote "Nongzhengzhengquanshu" (1639) and mentioned that southerners eat bitter melon. This shows that bitter melon was widely cultivated in southern China at that time and is now distributed throughout China. ?
Bitter melon is named after its taste. The word "bitter" is unpleasant, so Cantonese people also call it "liang melon" (Cantonese people don't call it "liang melon", only bitter melon. Later, when people from other places or from other provinces came to Guangdong, it was called "liang melon"). melon). Bitter melon is shaped like a knob-like protrusion, so it is also called a leprous melon; its surface is wrinkled, like a lychee, so it is also called a brocade lychee.
Timely sowing
The autumn planting period of bitter melon is generally July-August. During this period, the climate is suitable, easy to manage, the harvest time is long, and the yield is high. The winter planting period of bitter melon is from November to December. Due to the low temperature in winter, it is advisable to use film covering when planting, and implement the integrated irrigation technology of water and fertilizer under the film. It can not only preserve fertilizer and water, increase ground temperature, promote normal growth and development of seedlings, increase yield, but also save labor and cost. ?
Reasonably dense planting
Bitter melon has strong growth potential, many side branches, and a long growth period. It must have a good group structure to achieve high yields. Therefore, the planting density (specification) must be reasonable. The general row spacing for planting is: 80 × 200 cm for equal row spacing, 100 × (30 + 170) ÷ 2 cm for wide and narrow row spacing, and 400-500 plants per mu. ?
Apply sufficient base fertilizer
When sowing and planting, first plow and dig a hole in the trench according to the planting specifications. Use 100 kilograms of superphosphate per acre to pile high-quality soil. 1000-500 kg of miscellaneous fertilizer or cattle pen fertilizer, 7-8 kg of high-concentration compound fertilizer for vegetables, and 1.5 kg of borax are applied to the holes and mixed evenly, and then sow the seeds in the holes. The seeds in each hole should not be in direct contact with the fertilizer, and then soaked with enough water. .