Pitting method of Cultivating Bitter Gourd

Pitting method of Cultivating Bitter Gourd by Pritham Denzil Dsouza aka 'Metal Farmer'
i have already discussed how to cultivate Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia) in my previous post in continuous pits . here i would like to show you how one can grow Bitter Gourds in individual pits.

• the size of every pit is around 60 cms X 60 cms and height is about 30 cms
• in every pit around 6 seeds are sowed
• after germination, 3 seeds are retained per pit
  
• this is done to prevent over crowding

• support in the form of sticks has to be given during vegetative phase
• the vines tend to fall to the ground and care has to be taken to see the vines are trained on top of the support so as to move upwards

• during flowering phase, thousands of bright yellow flowers are seen, however only one tenth of them will pollinate and yield fruit

• once the vines reach a desired height as shown above, they will need to start growing vertically and a proper trellis needs to be built as seen in the pic below

• results can be seen in 21 days as the pic shows above
• retaining just 3 seeds per pit has resulted in lush growth of the vines in every pit
• watering the pits is easy and there is no wastage
• application of manures can also easily be done per pit

• there is a tendency for the vines to produce excessive lateral shoots and they too are given support so they move upwards as shown in the pic above

Advantages of growing in pits

• plant density and plant population can be maintained
• no over crowding
• application of manure and fertilizer is much easy
• no wastage due to excessive drainage
• spraying with neem using back pack sprayer is convenient and can be done from a distance
• harvesting is easy
• the resultant shade increases pollination by attracting a large number of pollinators

all images and data by Pritham 'Metal Farmer' D'Souza