Plant Sale shopper April sent in these photos of her cuke-nuts. Known by the obscure botanical name of Melothria scabra, cuke-nuts have been increasingly popular at the sale. From what April says, I can see why.
April wrote:
It’s a happy and busy little vine that loves to clamor all over my garden. It’s found a favorite spot twining itself around a nearby tomato plant.
I eat the fruits whole and they taste just like a cucumber, yet they are only an inch long. The only trick is to let them ripen or else the skin is bitter.
The harvest has been good for just one small plant and is a hit with my three-year-old daughter. Next year I plan to buy more and plant them at the base of all my tomato plants. Thanks for all the work you do at putting on the sale. I’m already making my list for next year. I’d love to see some lingonberry bushes there. (Wink, wink!)
We’ll be looking into the lingonberry idea. In the meantime, if you’ve got garden photos, send them to photos@friendsschoolplantsale.com. We love to see them!
I purchased one of these this year. But, how do you tell when they are ripe?
When they look like the ones pictured above; like a mini-watermelon. Then taste them, if they are bitter they could use a little more ripening. They produce an abundant crop, a fruit in each leaf axil, ripening over an long season.
They get fatter and a bit pale when ripe. Does anyone know if they are hybrid or not? I want to save some seeds.
One vine produced about 200 cuke nuts and took over most of the side of my garage on a large trellis we have there. Great snack plant. Just walk by and eat.
Beth: yes, you can collect the seeds and save for next year. After ripening on the vine, collect the seeds from the fruit, clean them, then let them dry before storing.