National Bitter Melon Council

Whether seeding it in a front porch pot to taste for the first time at the end of the season or growing a full row in your community garden plot to feed an entire family, having Bitter Melon in your home garden can be a great way to develop a relationship with this unique gourd.

The mere act of planting a seed and patiently watching it grow is a pleasure familiar to even the most casual of gardeners. With Bitter Melon, this pleasure is highlighted by Bitter Melon’s assertive presence in the garden. A single plant will bear dozens of delicate yellow flowers. Like other climbing curcurbits, its intelligent vines knot tightly to whatever they can find to climb toward the sky. The jagged leaves and bumpy fruit contrast with other, more common smooth and round vegetation and its bitter smell contributes an herbaceous odor surrounding the plant.