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Post by macmex on Jul 17, 2017 4:39:36 GMT -6
I planted about four or five seeds and they're up and growing. In the next week I expect they'll start climbing on their trellis. Glen, most of the time when I've had seed go bad, especially when I lived in a subtropical zone, it was because of excessive humidity. You may need to find some silica gel and dry seeds with that. Then, seal them tight in an air tight jar.
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Post by glen on Jul 17, 2017 10:14:57 GMT -6
Thanx George. All I was doing was putting the seeds on a dish and letting them dry on top of the fridge. Then putting them in a plastic zip-loc bag in the freezer. Works great for okra! Now, if seeds can sit on the ground outside all year and then somehow germinate is beyond me. I have this one plant and am counting on it to give me a couple more fruits so I can try one more time. What about dried rice? Seems like that would be a good alternate to the silica gel if I couldn't find it.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 19, 2017 7:22:34 GMT -6
A sealed jar of rice would probably work almost as good as silica gel. My Wife put her cell phone in a half gallon jar of rice after it got dropped in water and then waited a couple days... that fixed it by pulling the moisture out of the phone.
Last week, I dropped my digital timer in the sink while I was washing my hands and ruined it. We didn't have any rice, so I sealed it in a half gallon jar of macaroni, two days later it worked just fine again.
When I was a kid, my Grandma would put a cup of dried beans in the bottom of her sugar canister to keep her sugar from clumping during high humidity.
Beach sand, left in a cake pan in the oven at 250 for a few hours, then sealed in a glass jar until cool will become dry enough to suck the moisture out fresh flowers to make dried flower arrangements. That would probably work to dry seeds as well?
Just trying to think of 3rd World possibilities for things that might help dry seeds more thoroughly.
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Post by glen on Jul 19, 2017 14:39:36 GMT -6
Great idea's! I just looked in the freezer and there is a nice big bag of bittermellon seed. Probably all bad. Next time I plan to make more effort to make sure they are dried properly. I never had that type of problema before. I haven't had any bittermelon for a good while. When you have experienced using it for awhile and you realice how good it is for your system you really miss that. I have said this before, I use the fruits to make juice. The juice is good for your gut. Full of fibre and many compounds. If you suffer from IBS which is a very common problema, bittermelon really does help. It is not a cure. But, during the time you are able to consume bittermelon juice you almost forget you have this ailment. Once the bittermelon supply runs out, the IBS eventually comes right back. Bittermelon juice makes everything run right. How it Works I have no idea. It is a worthy juice to drink on a daily basis as a tonic. And, it has a lot of vitamins and minerals in it. I hope that the vine I have outside provides me with more seed.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 3, 2017 15:29:25 GMT -6
Glen,
I have my first little bitter melon fruits of the year! They are about an inch long. They were only blossoms a week ago. I'm excited! Can't wait until I see the orange fruits again!
I'm enjoying a cup of the green bitter melon leaf tea as I write.
Thank you once more for the seeds you sent last year that I grew these seeds from. They are second generation Okies now!
I'm glad you found some Roselle plants there where you live. Maybe you'll get to try a cup of that tea this year as well. I put 5 of the red Roselle calyces per cup of boiling water, then I add a teaspoon of sugar per cup. It tastes like Hawaiian Punch that is actually good for your kidneys.
Last year, I mixed Roselle with bitter melon and made some really good tea too.
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Post by glen on Aug 6, 2017 21:27:27 GMT -6
Ron, since you have a dehydrator. Try drying some of the fruits. I mean, if you have enough. I have read that it dry's well. I am having a real hard time with my vines right now. They still are not putting on any blooms and they are not growing well. They hate this over-cast weather. They like sun and heat. If they get sun and heat they grow like hell-fire and brimstone. And, they put on hundreds of fruits. Your vines will probably get adapted to your climate and give you nice harvests. I bet that if you look online there are variety's that grow a lot better in your long day-length. Oh, my vines look like they have some kind of virus also. Looks a Little like leaf curl virus. Its not on the entire vine. Its on the ends. My vines just don't look right. I have no seed in the freezer so I am counting on getting at least a few fruits so I can sabe some seed. Its not looking good for me.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 6, 2017 22:32:12 GMT -6
If my fruits make it to maturity I can send you some seeds this Fall. If you need them let me know.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 23, 2017 15:14:07 GMT -6
My bitter melon fruits are reaching lengths of nearly one foot. Last year, the largest ones were only 6 or 8 inches. The fruits on the vines this year are still light green and tender. They have a lot more potential left in them. With all this rain in August, they probably think they're growing in the tropics. I counted fourteen fruits and dozens of fresh blooms this morning!
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Post by glen on Aug 31, 2017 8:11:41 GMT -6
Ron, those vines look great. What did you do? Spring for a camera? My vines are not doing well. I have one vine with one fruit. That is it. Please let the seeds dry well before putting them in the freezer. The fruits are the best part. Pick them while they are still shiny green. Split them and scoop out the immature seeds with a spoon. Cut the split halves into chunks and throw em in the blender with some water. Puree. Then pour the mush thru a sieve. You can flavor this juice with anything you want. I like to add a little salt and lemon juice. Put this juice in the fridge and drink within 3 days. You can also cut this fruit the same way and then put the chunks into zip-lock bags and puree it another day. It keeps well in the freezer. You can also slice the fruits and then dry it as well. The juice is so good for the gut. Cleans out your system. Drink a glass of this juice in the morning and in the evening. Much better than Pepto-bizmol. Sour stomach? Gas? Upset stomach? Flatulance? Diaria? Acid stomach? Whatever. Try this juice cause it really straightens out most gut related problems. I wish I had some right now in fact.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 1, 2017 22:31:43 GMT -6
I've had the camera for a couple years, I finally learned how to use it. I finally got a ripe bitter melon for next year's seeds.
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Post by macmex on Sept 2, 2017 11:52:40 GMT -6
I have a couple immature fruit in my patch. Got them in late. So I am happy to be getting fruit. This looks slightly different from the ones I grew in 2015. I think I got the seed from Sand Mueller.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 6, 2017 16:07:02 GMT -6
Here is a photo of the bitter melon I picked this morning. I think it was about 11" inches long? It's the 6th one I've harvested in the past week or so. The Wife and kids eat the seed pulp like candy. The pulp makes a good, healthy snack. upload photo to internet
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Post by glen on Sept 15, 2017 17:36:17 GMT -6
This morning I just planted bittermelon. I am not late planting it though since I live in a different climate than you guys. I do however, have nematodes and I just found out that the nematodes are attacking my bittermelon vines. I didn't know that bittermelon was a host for nematodes. Pretty disappointing. At any rate, I have this new planting in 10 gallon pots. I planted 6 sedes in each pot. There are 2 pots. I will be keeping only one seedling though. This variety is big. The root system will fill the entire 10 gallon pot if the nematodes don't kill the plants first. By the way, beautiful big fruits Ron! That one looks to be at least a lb! They get huge don't they? George, thats definitely a hindu variety. The spikey ones are hindu. The smooth ones are Chino. I have not tried the spikey ones but I have Heard that the hindu fruits are more bitter. Bitter is good. I have a good récipe for cooking the fruits if you are interested. Otherwise, I like to make juice out of them. Its the most convenient way to consume the fruits. Juice does waste the solids though. The solids in the fruits are just full of fibre and other useful natural stuff. I am pretty much addicted to the juice if its around though. It even begins to taste good after awhile if you can believe it.
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Post by macmex on Sept 16, 2017 8:25:17 GMT -6
Glen, by all means, post the recipe! I may only get two bitter melon this year. My vines are not prospering where I put them. But the recipe will be invaluable for anyone reading this thread. Plus, I fully intend to plant more next year!
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Post by glen on Sept 16, 2017 11:06:20 GMT -6
George, bittermelon likes heat. They are in the same family as the cucurbits. Like squash and pumpkin etc. They also like lots of sun. They like organic material mixed into the soil. They also like a nuetral ph. Depending on the variety these vines need lots of room to spread out. The variety I sent to Oklahoma is a big vine. You only need one or 2 vines if you have a good ones. They will produce hundreds of fruits.
This is the recipe. It is said to be Philipino where they call this plant Ampalaya. However, they fix this recipe all over the world. Use 2 fruits. Cut them long ways and scoop out the pulp and seed. Chop up the halves. Saute them in a frying pan in some oil for awhile. Then throw in some chopped onions, garlic, italion tomato, and saute them until you like them. Use some salt. I like to use season salt. Season to your own taste then throw in 2 or 3 eggs and cook them in this mixture of bittermelon and veggy's.
If you are a novice you can peel the fruits to lessen the bitter taste. However, the skin is where a lot of the healthy compounds hide so when you develop a taste for the bitterness try to eat this with out peeling. This dish will grow on you slowly. Once you like it forget about it. You will want to eat it again for breakfast. In the third world, eggs aren't just for breakfast.
Also, try using this veggy in soups and stews. The problem generally is going to be that most US consumers are not acclimated to the taste so just try this for yourself. Don't experiment with guests.
In my opinion the best way to use this fruit without infringing on the delicate taste requirements of typical US consumers is to make juice out of the fruits. This way you can get the benefits of the fruits without expecting others to like it. Because they will not. It's sort of like trying to get someone to eat okra. They won't.
The juice is easy to make. Just cut the fruits long ways and scoop out the pulp and seed. Chop them into chunks and then puree in the blender. With water. Add more water depending on how much you are pureeing. You will get the hang of it. The less water you add the stronger the juice is. Once it is puree'd then strain it by pouring it thru a sieve. Remember to use shiny green fruits. There is nothing wrong with the ripe fruits for some people. I do not eat it ripe myself. The ripe fruit will ferment extremely quickly if you make juice out of it and it is much sweeter. I have read that the ripe fruit is toxic online but that is not correct. Bittermelon is not toxic.
The juice, if made from shiny green fruits will last for 3 days in the fridge. Drink a cup in the morning and a cup in the evening. There is lots of potassium and vitamin c in this juice and its very medicinal and will give you a lot of energy.
The fruits can be frozen also. Just cut them they way I said and put them in freezer bags and throw in the freezer.
If you have any issues with your gut this juice will provide quick relief. Do you have flatulence? I hope not. However, if you do this juice stops it in its tracks. Diahrea? Upset stomach? Stops it in its tracks. Acid stomach? Stops it. If you are not sick, it keeps you from getting sick to your stomach. Cleans out your liver. Kills parasites. Slows the growth of certain cancer cells.
Google it for self.
Take the benefits I listed with a grain of salt and try this juice. Then, tell me what you think?
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