How to grow successfully GAC - a super food from nature mother

🌿 How to Grow Gac Fruit – The Superfood from Nature

1. The amazing benefits of Gac fruit

Gac (Momordica cochinchinensis) is often called “the superfood of Vietnam” thanks to its incredible nutritional content. The red aril of the fruit is extremely rich in lycopene and beta-carotene, containing many times more of these antioxidants than tomatoes and carrots.

Scientific studies show that Gac helps improve eyesight, nourish the skin, prevent cancer, and support heart health while slowing down aging.

Gac oil, Gac powder, and the red pulp around the seeds are all widely used in food, medicine, and cosmetics. Because of these benefits, many people have started growing Gac at home to have their own supply of this valuable fruit.

2. Biological characteristics:

Gac fruits

Gac has male and female plants

Gac is a dioecious plant, which means it has separate male and female plants. The important thing to know is that you cannot tell the gender of the plant until it flowers.

👉 That’s why people never plant just one Gac vine.

👉 Usually, you should plant at least two vines, and ideally three vines in the same area to increase the chance of having both male and female plants.

Gac fruit will only form when pollination happens between male and female flowers. If you have only one gender, the plant won’t bear fruit.

3. Planting and caring for Gac vines

🪴Soil requirements

Gac prefers loose, well-drained soil. You can use:

• Potting mix or garden soil,

• Mixed with peat moss to help retain moisture and support root growth.

☀️Planting location

• Gac loves full sunlight — at least 6–8 hours of sun per day.

• If grown in a shady spot, the vine will produce fewer flowers and fruits.

• Because Gac is a climbing vine, it needs a large trellis, at least 12 x 24 ft. The bigger the trellis, the more fruit it can produce.

🌱Soil mound and drainage

• Gac vines are sensitive to root rot and flooding during rainy seasons, so you should build a raised mound:

  • Diameter: 2-3 ft for each couple plants. You can grow 2-3 plants in the same or different area.

  • Height: 1 ft above ground level,

  • Around the mound, dig a drainage trench about 0.5 ft deep.

    
    

• Time to grow: Spring time is the best. Gac is tropical fruit, they can not tolerate under 45F and frost weather. But once you grow them become adult plants, you can cut all its branches after harvest and cover the stump by dry grass or mulches or any another breathable materials. When spring coming, the new branches will come out again.

• Gac grow from seed having better and stronger roots than from cuttings or air layer. If you start to grow in winter, please grow in pot first to avoid of cold weather, cut the branches when it is too long to save its energy, then transplant to garden in spring time.

• You can grow gac in pot but i recomend at lease you should use 50 gallon pot.

🌾Fertilizing in the soil before planting

• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of Miracle-Gro or 10-10-10 fertilizer around the planting area, at least 0.5 ft away from the roots.

• If you prefer organic gardening, you can use fish fertilizer or compost instead.

• After spreading fertilizer, cover it with 0.5 ft of soil, then plant your Gac vine and fill in the soil around the roots. Please not that do not place the roots directly to the fertilizer layer, need 0.5 ft soil at lease, if not, the new plant can be died.

• Build a small fence around the mound to protect the vine and prevent the soil from washing away when watering.

💧Watering and monthly care

• Water once a day to keep the soil moist (but not soggy).

• Fertilize once a month, always around 1 ft away from the base of the plant, never directly at the stem.

• Trim weak side shoots, leaving only 2–3 main strong vines to focus the plant’s energy on fruit production.

4. Flowering and pollination

After about 8–10 months, the Gac vine will begin to produce flowers.

• Male flowers appear first, followed later by female flowers.

• Since bees and butterflies are now rare, Gac vines usually need manual pollination to bear fruit.

🌸How to hand-pollinate Gac flowers

• Use a Q-tip (cotton swab) to gently collect pollen from a male flower (which does not have a small fruit at its base).

• Dab the Q-tip onto the female flower’s stigma (the one with a tiny fruit at the base).

• The best time to pollinate is between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon, when the flowers are fully open and fresh.

• Pollinating in the afternoon is usually too late.

5. Harvesting

About 2–3 months after pollination, the Gac fruit will ripen. Normally from September to Deêcmber

• When the skin changes from green to bright red-orange, it’s ready to harvest.

• Ripe Gac can be used to cook sticky rice (xôi gấc), extract Gac oil, make Gac powder, or freeze for long-term storage.

🌺Conclusion:

Growing Gac is not difficult — as long as you provide good sunlight, well-drained soil, and patience, you’ll soon enjoy beautiful red Gac fruits, known as “the jewels of health” right in your own garden.