Cucamelon – Mexican Sour Gherkin
Cucamelon – Mexican Sour Gherkin are fun little fruits that have a taste of watermelon with a hint of lime. They’re such a fun treat in the garden. They also look like a baby watermelon. They are a trailing vine with fine delicate looking leaves. The vines can grow up to 3 m under warm enough conditions. I grew mine in a hanging basket in the hothouse however they will handle a Tasmanian summer like cucumbers (albeit a shorter season).
Pick fruit when it gets the size of your thumb. In warmer climates you can treat Cucamelons as a perennial.
Sow: in a hothouse or inside (mid October to early December – cool climate). For good germination use a heat mat to min 21 degrees C. Plant outside mid November to December after weather has warmed.
Spacing: 60cm. They do well in grow bags and love the hothouse.
Melothria scabra is native to Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela, where it grows in forests and thickets.
Germination: Optimal Soil temperature is 22 to 30 C (around 7-10 days to germination)
