Oh I should have peeled into the seeds! The red part is the thickness of most fruit peels (like maybe an avocado or mango's.) It's super slippery. The seeds are typically not edible. There is a debate on whether the membrane is edible. Some say it is toxic and some say it isn't. I think both are true. While it is toxic, the amounts is not concentrated enough to sicken MOST people. If erring on the side of caution, it is best to avoid them. Speaking of toxic, right before my reply to your question I did a quick look up of whether the seeds are toxic. In doing so I discovered that there is a claim that toxic compounds develop/are present when the bitter melon ripens. As such, I do not recommend eating it when it is ripe. (Growing up, we only eat bittermelon when it is green.)
While parts of the country have experienced frost, it's still summer in our backyard garden. However, with respect to direct sunlight, the angle of the sun has changed and parts of our garden will not have adequate direct sun. We'll plant up that space last. In the meantime, there is open space because we lost plants to zealous raccoons. In their zeal for digging up the grubs, they also dug out our transplanted seedlings. Brassicas like broccoli and their hybrids do not like their roots disturbed. Getting dug out is often a complete loss. It is possible to replant them but they wont amount to anything worth harvesting. Further, they are more susceptible to and will attract pests. The grubs in the ground have grown to edible sizes and the raccoons, skunks, opossum know this. This is the period of the year when it is most frustrating for warm climate gardeners. Waking up to uprooted seedlings results in a cocktail of feelings. Finding the best solution is a balance of practicality and cost. Netting and wire mesh and other materials will quickly dent the garden budget. While too much protection can make it difficult to use the garden/plant/harvest. Looking ahead: we have 1 to 3-inches of rain next week. I am most excited about this and will look to infiltrate ("Low Impact Development ") as much runoff as I can. Our lows are starting to reflect the lows normal for this time of the year 50-40F. Daytime highs will be in the 70s. Though with this being an El Nino year, slightly higher daytime highs may still pop up. That means that we'll keep the summer plants in place unless we need to pull them. Zone 10b / San Gabriel Valley / Los Angeles / Southern California / USA
Thank you, Brian, for the information on the citrus. My 25-plus year old Tangelo Didn't do well this year at all and what it is set for next year is very small and few and far between. I was seriously thinking about removing it because that would give me a third of my yard to grow in. But I do like my tangelo so I'll give it one more year before I get chainsaw happy.
Happy to have shared my observations. For this being a citrus weather off year, it is good that your Tangelo doesn't have a normal amount of fruit. It is probably saving up for the next crop. Hope that is the case 😄
Shasta Gold is probably my favorite citrus. Although i do have Yosemite and Tahoe Gold, i havent tried them off my own trees. But i can say that Yosemite looks to be the most aggresive grower and produces the biggest fruit. I would wait until March or April to pick your Shastas
I am happy to hear that SG is perhaps your favorite. With limited space, I really have to pick and choose, lol. Thanks for the advice to wait until Spring to pick. Also, very cool that you have many varieties of citrus growing.
What’s the taste difference between Indian and Chinese bittermelon? I was in Chino on Dec 28 to visit our brother-in-law’s cemetery for a few hours and went back to LV. May be visiting early summer with family as well.
I am sure there are additional nuances but the main difference is the concentration of bitter compounds. More Chinese prefer less bitter. p.s. the vine is still alive. At this point, I am leaving it be to see what happens, ha. That's right, your in LV now. I keep remembering you as being in CA.
@@neverenoughdirt we were back in Canada but will be returning in summer. Normally bittermelon is rubbed with salt to draw some moisture to reduce bitterness. Will try Chinese verity soon to see if without salt treatment taste is identical.
Those bittermelon seeds look like little berries, I assume they are not edible for humans?
Oh I should have peeled into the seeds! The red part is the thickness of most fruit peels (like maybe an avocado or mango's.) It's super slippery. The seeds are typically not edible.
There is a debate on whether the membrane is edible. Some say it is toxic and some say it isn't. I think both are true. While it is toxic, the amounts is not concentrated enough to sicken MOST people. If erring on the side of caution, it is best to avoid them.
Speaking of toxic, right before my reply to your question I did a quick look up of whether the seeds are toxic. In doing so I discovered that there is a claim that toxic compounds develop/are present when the bitter melon ripens. As such, I do not recommend eating it when it is ripe. (Growing up, we only eat bittermelon when it is green.)
While parts of the country have experienced frost, it's still summer in our backyard garden. However, with respect to direct sunlight, the angle of the sun has changed and parts of our garden will not have adequate direct sun. We'll plant up that space last. In the meantime, there is open space because we lost plants to zealous raccoons. In their zeal for digging up the grubs, they also dug out our transplanted seedlings. Brassicas like broccoli and their hybrids do not like their roots disturbed. Getting dug out is often a complete loss. It is possible to replant them but they wont amount to anything worth harvesting. Further, they are more susceptible to and will attract pests.
The grubs in the ground have grown to edible sizes and the raccoons, skunks, opossum know this. This is the period of the year when it is most frustrating for warm climate gardeners. Waking up to uprooted seedlings results in a cocktail of feelings. Finding the best solution is a balance of practicality and cost. Netting and wire mesh and other materials will quickly dent the garden budget. While too much protection can make it difficult to use the garden/plant/harvest.
Looking ahead: we have 1 to 3-inches of rain next week. I am most excited about this and will look to infiltrate ("Low Impact Development ") as much runoff as I can.
Our lows are starting to reflect the lows normal for this time of the year 50-40F. Daytime highs will be in the 70s. Though with this being an El Nino year, slightly higher daytime highs may still pop up. That means that we'll keep the summer plants in place unless we need to pull them.
Zone 10b / San Gabriel Valley / Los Angeles / Southern California / USA
Thank you, Brian, for the information on the citrus. My 25-plus year old Tangelo Didn't do well this year at all and what it is set for next year is very small and few and far between. I was seriously thinking about removing it because that would give me a third of my yard to grow in. But I do like my tangelo so I'll give it one more year before I get chainsaw happy.
Happy to have shared my observations. For this being a citrus weather off year, it is good that your Tangelo doesn't have a normal amount of fruit. It is probably saving up for the next crop. Hope that is the case 😄
Shasta Gold is probably my favorite citrus. Although i do have Yosemite and Tahoe Gold, i havent tried them off my own trees. But i can say that Yosemite looks to be the most aggresive grower and produces the biggest fruit. I would wait until March or April to pick your Shastas
I am happy to hear that SG is perhaps your favorite. With limited space, I really have to pick and choose, lol.
Thanks for the advice to wait until Spring to pick. Also, very cool that you have many varieties of citrus growing.
What’s the taste difference between Indian and Chinese bittermelon?
I was in Chino on Dec 28 to visit our brother-in-law’s cemetery for a few hours and went back to LV. May be visiting early summer with family as well.
I am sure there are additional nuances but the main difference is the concentration of bitter compounds. More Chinese prefer less bitter.
p.s. the vine is still alive. At this point, I am leaving it be to see what happens, ha.
That's right, your in LV now. I keep remembering you as being in CA.
@@neverenoughdirt we were back in Canada but will be returning in summer.
Normally bittermelon is rubbed with salt to draw some moisture to reduce bitterness. Will try Chinese verity soon to see if without salt treatment taste is identical.