Sopropo Pearl Goya is a distinctive-looking, exotic fruit that grows on a cucumber-like plant. This Pearl Goya ripens from light green through dark green to pearly white. Sopropo is also known as bitter melon, bitter apple, bitter courgette, bitter gourd and balsam pear. In our region, the name Sopropo is most commonly used. This subtropical vegetable belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, just like cucumber, melon, courgette, watermelon, gherkin, kiwano, luffa and chayote. These are all edible members of the cucumber family. This vegetable originates from Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. It produces edible fruits with a characteristic bitter flavour. It is a perennial plant with special tendrils that allow it to cling to supports such as trellises. Each plant produces both male and female flowers. In our climate, the plants flower from June to July, followed by fruit production from September to November. It is a frost-sensitive plant that is grown as an annual in our climate.
The elongated fruits have a distinctive, warty appearance. When cut open, they are hollow, with a jelly-like substance surrounding the seeds. This jelly-like substance is usually red. The fruits are almost always eaten unripe and green, but the ripe white fruit can also be eaten. The flesh is crisp and watery and resembles cucumber flesh in appearance. Sopropo is a very healthy and versatile vegetable. It contains, among others, vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C, E and K, as well as the minerals calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc. Sopropo is usually eaten boiled, fried or stir-fried. It can also be used in soups, stir-fries, dim sum, herbal tea and beer. Use Sopropo in exotic dishes and stir-fries, or hollow out the fruit and stuff it with, for example, rice or minced meat and various vegetables. This plant needs support and, in our European climate, is best grown in a greenhouse because it requires plenty of warmth. Non hardy annual. Height: 400 - 500 cm.
Soak: 24 hours
Indoor sowing: April - June
Germination: 2 - 7 days
Germination temp.: 22-25°C
Sowing depth: 1 - 1¼ cm
Plant distance: 15-30 cm
Plant position: sunny and sheltered (greenhouse or hothouse)
Days till harvest: 60 - 70
Soak about 24 hours before sowing in tepid water. Sow indoors from April on. Keep warm and keep the soil temperature at about 20 °C and very even to ensure a quick and good germination. Sow in seperate pots 1 or 2 seeds each. Cover with a layer of moist soil. Keep moist, but not to wet to prevent the seeds from rotting. Cover the pots with clingfilm to retain the moisture. Remove the clingfilm when the seedlings emerge.
Tranplant the seedlings in a greenhouse or hothouse after about 1 month. Give them a lot of light, warmth and a high air humidity to stimulate the grow and fruit setting of the plants. Fertilize the female flowers by hand to get fruits. These plants need a lot of feeding to grow. Fertilize each week when the fruits starting to grow a lot of water mixed with a liquid feed. Support the plants. Protect the plants against snails, slugs, birds and other pests. Give water on the ground and not on the plants to prevent rotting. This subtropical plant needs a lot of warmth, sunshine and humidity to trive. Harvest the fruits when they're young, tender and light green. The old, ripe fruits have a really bitter flavour. Cut the fruits with a knife from the plants.
