How to plant bitter melon on the balcony? How to build a frame for planting bitter melon on the balcony?

It is good to plant bitter melon on the balcony. Bitter melon is a common vegetable in life. Although it tastes bitter, it is known as "gentleman's vegetable". And its nutritional value is very high, so eating more of it is good for the body. Planting it on the balcony allows you to pick it at any time, which is very convenient.

How to grow bitter melon on the balcony

1. Pot soil preparation

   When planting bitter melon on the balcony, you can choose a large flower pot with a diameter and depth greater than 30 cm to provide enough growth space for the bitter melon. As for the soil, it is better to choose fertile and well-drained nutrient soil .

2. Seed treatment

   Before sowing bitter melon, it is best to soak the seeds first, wrap the washed and dried seeds with a wet cloth, germinate them at 25 degrees, wash them 1-2 times a day, and sow them after they sprout .

3. Planting method

   Use a wooden stick to dig a few small holes in the potting soil, put about 3 seeds in each small hole, then cover with soil and water with a small amount. After about 20 days, the bitter melon seeds will germinate.

Key points for growing bitter melon on the balcony

1. Light temperature

   Bitter melon is a short-day plant, generally only half a day of sunlight is needed . Therefore, it can be placed in a place with a partition for maintenance, and the temperature should be maintained at 30℃-35℃, and the optimum temperature for growth is about 25℃ .

2. Fertilizer and water

   Bitter melon likes moisture, so you should keep the soil moist, but don't let it become too waterlogged. After the bitter melon bears fruit, you can add some potassium fertilizer, phosphorus fertilizer, and diluted sesame paste cake fertilizer .

How to build a rack for growing bitter melon on the balcony

1. Herringbone cross

The main features of the herringbone frame are firmness, strong wind resistance and easy operation. The disadvantage is that the dense branches and vines on the top are easy to form shade and poor ventilation in the later stage. When setting up the frame, insert the frame material obliquely into the soil, then add a bamboo pole longitudinally at the intersection and tie it tightly with a plastic rope.

2. Improved herringbone cross

That is, place more rack materials on the A-frame to connect the A-frames in each row. For ease of operation, the intersection point of the A-frame can be raised to 140-150 cm.

This type of trellising method has the characteristics of both an A-frame and a trellis. After being put on the frame, the stems and vines are distributed horizontally, which expands the growth space of the stems and vines and avoids the shortcomings of the general A-frame, which has poor ventilation and light transmission.

3. Horizontal scaffolding

When setting up the frame, insert a bamboo pole with a base diameter as thick as a thumb vertically into the soil 20-25 cm, add another bamboo pole vertically 150-160 cm away from the bed surface, then use the bamboo poles to connect the other beds to form a trellis, and tie it tightly with plastic ropes.