This plant produces vines that could be mistaken for regular cucumber plants. The plants are not quite as productive as cucumbers, but the fruits are amazingly cute and novel.
They look like tiny watermelons but have a very appealing cucumber flavor with slight citrus notes. Eat them fresh or pickle them for a crunchy treat. Harvest them at the 2cm (1") size, before the seeds develop.
This is a heat-loving tropical plant that is most productive in hot weather or a greenhouse setting. Start the seeds indoors and treat them as you would a conventional cucumber seedling.
Name: Cucamelon
Other Common Names: Mouse Melon / Mexican Sour Gherkin / Mexican Miniature Watermelon / Mexican Sour Cucumber / Creeping Cucumber / Guadeloupe Cucumber / Pepquinos / Sandiita
Scientific Name: Melothria Scabra
Color: Yellow Flowers / Green Striped Fruit
Plant Seeds: Indoors Weeks Before Last Frost / Outdoors After Danger of Frost
Harvest: 70 Days
Hardiness Zone: 9 - 11
Plant Height: 6 - 12" / Up to 10' Vine
Plant Spacing: 15 - 18"
Light Requirements: Sun
Soil & Water Preferences: Average