Maltese Bitter Melon

Momordica charantia Origin: Malta Improvement status: Unknown Seeds per packet: 8 Germination tested 10/2024: 92% Life cycle: Annual Most people consider bitter melons to be a classic Asian vegetable, and they are indeed widely grown and consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, China, Japan (especially Okinawa), and Korea, but bitter melons actually originated in Africa. This helps explain why they are also very popular in the Caribbean (often under the name "cerasee"), and perhaps why this variety could be found growing in Malta, the island country located in the middle of the Mediterranean, halfway between Africa and Europe. EFN co-founder Nate Kleinman collected seeds for this variety on a visit to Malta in the fall of 2021. He found the plant growing feral at the base of a drainpipe behind a small building that serves as a market stand at Vincent's Eco-Farm. It was the greenest spot on the farm, as it receives more water than any other spot. Malta was in the midst of a