Growing Momordica at home - beauty and benefits on your balcony

Tell me, is it possible to grow Momordica at home? I ordered seeds on the Internet, but then I read that she needed warmth, and we live practically in the northern region. I tried the fruits only once and really liked their unusual taste. I already have a small garden at home on an insulated citrus loggia. If I plant momordica there, will it grow and bear fruit?

You won't surprise anyone with room lemons and tangerines, but the flower growers have gone even further. They successfully cultivate no less exotic plants. Growing Momordica at home is one of the latest hobbies. A heat-loving liana from the pumpkin family in the open field can grow only in warm regions. At the same time, she feels good on the windowsill and even on the balcony, especially if it is insulated. The plant is not particularly capricious in leaving: all it requires is warmth and a lot of light. As a reward, the vine will delight you with original fruits, which are not only beautiful and edible, but also medicinal.

There are almost two dozen varieties of culture. In the open ground or in an apartment, usually two types are planted: momordika kokhihinsky and haratsia.

Growing Momordica at home - planting features

Planting and caring for a tropical liana is akin to growing cucumbers, with the difference that the seeds of the former are larger and denser. This greatly complicates the emergence of sprouts. In addition to the standard soaking procedure, the seeds should also be scarified by rubbing with sandpaper. Now you can start germination, but first it is advisable to soak the material in potassium permanganate for a couple of hours. You can germinate seeds in sawdust in a warm place.

Optimal planting dates are late February or early March. It all depends on whether the seedlings will be supplemented.

When sprouts appear, plant the seeds in a light and nutritious soil. It is more convenient to do this immediately in separate pots. The first week of crops should be carried out under a film in a room with a temperature of at least 20 ° C.

How to care for a home exotic

It will be possible to remove the film when the seeds sprout. Now the seedlings should be transferred to a cooler room for a couple of days for hardening and preventing stretching (but not below 15 °).

Further care consists in simple procedures:

1. When the bushes reach 25 cm in height, they are transplanted into larger flowerpots.
2. It is advisable to take care of the support, because the vine is capable of growing long shoots.
3. The flowerpot should be placed in a sunny place - Momordica does not like the shadow.
4. The liana does not need formative pruning and grows by itself lush and thick. However, if it is not planted for beauty, but for the sake of fruit, one technique can be applied. It will redirect the forces of the plant to fruiting. For this, the top of the central shoot is pinched, and after the appearance of the ovary on the new lateral branches, their tops. If the branches did not produce flowers, they must be completely removed to avoid shading.
5. It is necessary to water the bush growing on the balcony every day in the summer or as the soil dries out in the pot.
6. Liana responds well to fertilizing with a mineral complex.

And one more nuance: Momordica growing indoors needs artificial pollination. She produces both male and female flowers, which bees and other insects can pollinate on open balconies.In the room, pollination is done manually with a brush.

Preparing and planting momordica seeds - video