By REESE AMOROSI
The cucamelon (Melothria scabra) is an annual vine in the Cucurbitaceae plant family that includes cucumbers, melons and squash. Cucamelons are grape-sized fruits that taste like a cross between cucumber and lime. This article focuses on how to grow, harvest and cook with cucamelons.
Growing Cucamelons
Cucamelons are known by many names including Mexican sour gherkin, mouse melon, and in their native Central America, sandita, which means “little watermelon.” This is especially apt since cucamelons and look like mini watermelons, the perfect size for a mouse picnic.
Over the last few years cucamelons have become more popular, so on occasion you will find starts at farmer’s markets and nurseries. But to guarantee that you’ll have cucamelons for your garden, you should grow your own. Cucamelon seeds are widely available through seed retailers. They are an easy, prolific crop.
Start the seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before last frost. Use a seed starting mix, depth is 1/2 inch; light is required for germination. Seedlings will emerge in 7-14 days. You can also direct sow after last frost; the minimum in-ground spacing is 3 inches. Cucamelons grow in full sun, but gardeners in hotter zones should situate them where they will be shaded during the sunniest part of the day.
Cucamelon vines generally grow 10-12 feet long, but give them extra room and they will grow beyond that. The vines will happily grow along the ground, but for easy access and to save space, train them vertically on a fence, net or trellis. Cucamelons can also be grown in containers, and they make interesting hanging baskets.
In our garden neither wildlife nor insects show any interest in the tiny, tart fruits, but that may not be the case in your area.
Harvesting Cucamelons
In our Mid-Atlantic, zone 7b location, cucamelon vines direct sown in May start flowering in mid-June. We are harvesting buckets of them by mid-August, and they usually produce up until the first hard frost. There are no special tools or techniques needs to harvest cucamelons; simply pluck them off of the vine and enjoy.
Cooking with Cucamelons
Cucamelons are super straight off the vine, and they are scrummy in a salad or stir-fry. My favorite way to prepare cucamelons is to make refrigerator pickles. My recipe is based on my Father’s method using mint and dill. I adapted it for cucamelons, and the results are delicious.
For more info visit the Glamorosi Cooks Cucamelon Refrigerator Pickles Recipe
Cucamelon Trivia
I was featured in the Botanical Interests seed catalog in 2017; that’s me on page 23 talking about cucamelons.
If you enjoyed “How to Grow, Harvest and Cook Cucamelons” you may also like “How to Grow, Harvest and Cook with Shiso”
