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Cucamelon

Sophie17Sophie17 Posts: 342
in Fruit & veg
I saw and tried some Cucamelons at a friend of a friends BBQ last year, opinion seemed divided but I quite liked the look and taste. I've got a pack of seeds and planted them last week and today a couple have lifted their sleepy heads image As its my first time growing them I'm a little clueless. Do I treat them like normal cucumber plants or something different? Any expertise or experiences to Share?
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  • ChuffChuff Posts: 16

    I grew them last year. They were OK, but not amazing enough to make me grow them again. I grew them as I would a cucumber, although I found it hard to get good advice on what they liked. They ran quite wild - much more of a climber than I expected. I wonder if I'd have got a better crop by pruning it back  bit to focus its attentions on fruit. You may want to research that!

  • Sophie17Sophie17 Posts: 342
    Thanks I will look into it more, I read that they can take over everywhere. Do they not crop very well?
  • Sophie17Sophie17 Posts: 342
    I hope you get good success from them image I really enjoyed the Cucamelons, they were in a herby chopped salad type dish and looked rather lovely growing up some trellis
  • ChuffChuff Posts: 16

    I grew mine in the greenhouse in a large pot. Maybe they would have been better outside. I wouldn't have said they "took over" exactly, but they were certainly "keen to explore"image I'm not sure how to judge the crop, but I was a little disappointed with the volume I got, considering the darn things are pretty small.

  • Sophie17Sophie17 Posts: 342
    Ok thanks, guess I will give it a go and see what happens.
  • NGLittleSeedlingsNGLittleSeedlings Posts: 729

    I grew mine in my greenhouse the year before last, cropped profusely. Definitely worth a go image 

  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150

    My 16 year old daughter grew some last year after seeing them on allotment challenge.

    They were in pots on the staging in my plastic growhouse, we put in canes for them to climb which they quickly outgrew and they scrambled up the netting I'd put up for shade all the way up to the roof ridge. They have lots of curly tendrils that will twine around anything like tiny springs.

    We used the same growbag compost as the tomatoes and cucumbers and liquid tomato feed the same also. They were pretty easy to grow once they got going.

    There were plenty of fruits but I was never quite sure when they were ready to pick, we ended up guessing by size.

    Good luck with yours Sophie.

     

  • Sophie17Sophie17 Posts: 342
    Thanks everybody that's some great tips there! I'm also growing tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes so will treat them much the same then and give them a slosh of tomato feed. I like trying new things so hopefully it will be a success
  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150

    Sophie, how did your planter project work out?

    I'm so nosey image 

  • Sophie17Sophie17 Posts: 342
    Ha! Well...... I broke 2 of hubbys drill bits so I'm in the dog house a bit! He should be thankful I didn't saw my arm off and make him spend all day in A&E. I got all 3 made and I painted them a bright purple colour on Monday. I've lined the small one but am waiting for the (grumpy) hubby to give me a lift to get some capping and more liner for the big two. I was so impressed I managed to do it all by myself. Quite hard work but it will give me years of enjoyment I hope. Will try and post a pic when I get the laptop fired up.
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