I meant to post about my Cucamelon harvest a couple of weeks ago but time has just eluded me lately. I only managed to grow two plants so I wasn’t expecting great things when it came to picking the fruits, however, I filled a small punnet with my harvest which is pretty good going. But, that’s where my praise for this quirky-looking crop ends I’m afraid. I have to admit, I don’t like them.
I find the texture of the skin strange, for me, this takes away any enjoyment of the flavour – which isn’t exactly exciting either. There’s a tiny hint of citrus, but other than that, it’s like chewing on a tough cucumber. I think it’s safe to say I won’t be growing them again.
Sorry Cucamelon fans!
Never heard of these before. Shame you didn’t like them. How did you eat them? Do you eat raw or cook them?
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Meant to ask you about these… how’s your crop of toms, did u do outdoor or greenhouse? Mine are all so green i’m worried i’ll lose them to end blossom rot it’s so damp here. hope u are ok.
♥ fran
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Candace, eat them raw – straight from the plants.
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Hi Fran, my toms are in the greenhouse and doing really well. Great success with Black Krim, the fruits are HUGE – can’t wait to taste them. I hope yours ripen in time xx
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Mine did really well, loads of fruit BUT all failed to grow to a proper size ( for cucamelons!) and just shrivled up. They had plenty of food and water etc and the plants look great but the fruitskeep on shrivling up :(
Sounds like I didn’t miss much, though!
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Thanks for letting us know what you think of them. On the strength of this I don’t think I’ll be trying them. I’ll stick to normal cucumbers.
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Interesting to hear your experience. I’ve heard of these but never tried growing them. I have to say that I can’t quite see the point. Cucumbers and melons both seem excellent things in their own right (though melons a bit of a challenge to grow, we have found), but not sure why something which is both and neither would be any better than the originals.
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I keep hearing about these – sorry to hear you didn’t like them after all the effort.
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I had reservations about these which you have qualified here. I have limited space in my tunnel and opted to grow tomatillos instead, which have been very successful, so will stick with them next year too. Thanks.
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This may be a silly question, but are these some kind of GM crops ??
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Beeseeker, here’s a link with more info on Cucamelon http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2296317/Exotic-Mexican-plant-tastes-cucumber-lime-called-cucamelon-launched-Britain-time.html
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Thanks for the link.
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“Mouse melon” :-)
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They are certainly strange. I love both cucumbers and melons but a mixture – I’m not sure!
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I am really glad you have written about these. James Wong talked about them and I’ve read a few magazine articles about them saying they are great, but I was sceptical then so I didn’t bother. I’m glad you have proved me right lol
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Just tried my first three yesterday and have to agree they really aren’t that special and not worth all the effort to grow. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I really struggled to get my plants to take despite numerous attempts and I don’t think I will bother again.
On a positive note, I will add them to this weekend’s salad for friends to try as like most things in life, taste is very personal :-)
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