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?
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
Candace, eat them raw – straight from the plants.
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
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!
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.
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.
I keep hearing about these – sorry to hear you didn’t like them after all the effort.
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.
This may be a silly question, but are these some kind of GM crops ??
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
Thanks for the link.
“Mouse melon” :-)
They are certainly strange. I love both cucumbers and melons but a mixture – I’m not sure!
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
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 :-)