Recently I grew cucamelons and I recommend growing this veggie for its ease and taste and as a fun kid project. Cucamelon has a variety of common names: Mexican sour gherkins, mouse melons, pepquinos, sandita, and Mexican miniature watermelons. The Latin name is Melathria scabra and they truly are in the cucumber family.
Cucamelons are vining, perennial plants that produce small, inch-long fruit. The fruit can be eaten raw or pickled like cucumbers. Native to Mexico and central America, cucamelons prefer the summer’s warmth.
You may not see the plants in local nurseries but they are easy to grow from seed. You can start the seed indoors under lights like tomato seeds and move out to the garden after danger of frost has passed. Or you can start from seed in May outside after the danger of frost has past. Like cucumber plants, they produce vines but these are very slender vines reaching up to 7 or 10 feet. Mine grew on an A-frame trellis about 4 feet tall and wide. Two plants covered one side, climbed over the other side, and are now running across the ground. Because the vines are slender (and not spiny) they are easy to pick up and drape over the frame. The plant is much more robust than regular cucumbers, they certainly are more disease resistant.
I grow other cucumbers as well and by July they have diseased foliage and the plants just peter out. The cucamelons were thriving in July despite Virginia’s heat and humidity.
Cucamelons produce small yellow flowers and green/white variegated fruit, exactly like a miniature watermelon. They taste like a cucumber but not as juicy, cool or refreshing. We ate them raw as a snack. They can be added to a green salad, cold pasta salad, or a rice salad. They can be pickled or used to make a relish. They can even be used as a garnish in cocktails.
If I had known these vines would be so healthy, I would have placed them on my new privacy fence. They can serve double duty, covering a screen or fence and producing edible fruit. They would be great for children’s teepees or small hideaway places as long as the children are not too young. Because cucamelons are so small they can be a choking hazard for very young children. Although they can be grown in containers, they would still need a trellis system.
Because the fruit’s coloring does not change as it matures, sometimes it is hard to tell when to pick them. The mature size is the size of a large grape, and should be a little tender. When you squeeze, it should give a little. If it is hard and does not give, it is overripe and may taste bitter. But these can be used for pickling. It is best to harvest early and often.
I highly recommend planting cucamelons. They are easy to grow, disease resistant, and very productive.