Mexican Mini Cucumber: Tips & Tricks For Planting Cucamelon
The cucamelon is all the rage right now. We reveal what to consider when planting the Mexican mini cucumber and how to eat it. The Mexican mini cucumber is a frugal plant with a decisive advantage: the small snack cucumbers are loved by children. And because growing them is almost as easy as child’s play, we can only recommend including the little climbers in your vegetable growing plan.
To help you shine with expert knowledge when someone asks you about the tiny melons in your garden, we’ve rounded up origin and characteristics, purchase, planting, and care tips. Finally, you’ll also find some tips on how to use these special little fruits.
Mexican Mini Cucumber: Origin And Characteristics
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The mini cucumber originates from Mexico and is also native to other Central American countries. It is a heat-loving, climbing cucamelon. Below ground, the plant forms strong storage roots that make it tolerant of drought and allow for perennial cultivation.
Above ground, the young tendrils search for a holding point with circular movements and then curl upward along it in a helical fashion. About two and a half meters the cucamelon with three-lobed leaves and small yellow flowers stretches upwards.
The flowers develop into fruits about the size of grapes, which taste sour and fresh and look like tiny watermelons. This is not surprising, since melons, cucumbers (Cucumis sativus), and mini cucumbers are in the same suborder within the order Cucurbitales.
Only melons and cucumbers belong to the genus Cucumis (cucumber family), but the mini cucumber belongs to the genus Melothria. This genus includes a total of ten species – but only Melothria scabra is available in our country as plants or seeds.
Summary:
- Order: Cucurbitales; Genus: Melothria; Species: scabra.
- Origin is in Central America
- Heat-loving and drought tolerant
- Climbing climber; about 6.5 ft high
- Forms underground storage root for overwintering
- Fruits about 25 mm long; externally a watermelon; taste similar to a cucumber
Buy Mexican mini cucumber
The price is quite low, ten seeds can be purchased for less than two euros, and a whole plant costs no more than four euros. However, if you really want to use the small fruits, you should already get more than two plants to be able to harvest worthwhile quantities.
Tip: The further culture of the Mexican mini cucumber succeeds well via the storage root, which, as with dahlias (Dahlia), can be overwintered slightly moist and frost-free. However, because the available varieties are usually seed-resistant, the small seeds can also be squeezed from the fruits, cleaned, dried, and sown again the following year.
What to consider when planting the mini cucumber?
Because the cucamelon comes from warmer zones of this earth, it can not cope with the frosty temperatures of our area. Only after the passing of the Ice Saints – that is, after May 15 – should be planted pre-cultivated plants outdoors.
According to experience, their location should be sunny to partial shade, warm, and protected. Culture in the greenhouse is possible, but not absolutely necessary. The soil is optimal if it is rich in nutrients and relatively dry – too much watering only increases the plant’s susceptibility to disease.
To reach high up, the mini cucumber definitely needs a climbing frame. By the way, the culture also succeeds without problems in the tub or raised bed.
The right care of the mini cucumber
For a better overview, we have prepared all the information for you in table form:
| Sowing window sill | End of February to mid-March |
| Seed depth | 1 – 2 cm |
| Germ temperature | 18 – 25 °C |
| Germ duration | 22 – 26 days |
| Picking | Approximately one week after germination; in a nutrient-rich substrate |
| Culture temperature | 18 °C and more |
| Planting | After 15 May; in the nutrient-rich substrate; sunny, warm location |
| Sowing outdoors | Mid-May to mid-June |
| Distances between plants | 40 x 40 cm |
| Pour | Moderate; Earth should never be wet |
| Harvest | Consistently possible from July to October |
| Hibernation | Remove foliage in autumn; digging up storage roots; Cool and frost-free in slightly moist sand |
| Multiplication | About Seeds |
Recipes And Preparation Of The Mini Cucumber
The mini cucumber can be prepared and eaten in many ways. As a snack cucumber, it is very popular with children, who like to eat it directly from the plant.
By the way, the slightly younger fruits have a better taste and contain fewer seeds than the ripe, yellowish fruits. In the same way, the mini cucumber can of course be used whole or sliced in salads, where it provides that certain bite.
It can also be boiled or stewed and topped off with a creamy dill sauce and some potatoes. Last but not least, the cucamelon can be pickled like the real cucumber, saving us from cutting it into small pieces due to its limited dimensions. In this case, a sweet and sour pickle with apple juice, dill, and onions enhances the special taste of the mini cucumbers.
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