How To Grow And Care For Cucamelon

Cucamelons are tiny, grape-sized fruits that taste like cucumbers with a touch of tart sourness but look like miniature watermelons. This hybrid, native to Mexico and Central America, is also known as Mexican sour gherkins or Melothria scabra. You may also know them by their other nicknames: mouse melons, Mexican miniature watermelons, Mexican sour cucumbers, or pepquinos.

The cucamelon isn't a figment of your imagination. This fruit-filled vine, considered invasive in some areas, would be an exciting addition to your typical garden. Grow this tiny, juicy, edible cucamelon (even the skin). They're packed with vitamins and antioxidants and carry many of the same health benefits associated with cucumbers and melons. These adorable hybrids are also known to be non-toxic for pets, so consider them a safer option to grow in your backyard garden.

In the kitchen, cucamelons are an unexpected addition to entrée salads or fruit salads, and they are a quirky (and delicious) garnish for main dishes, sides, and cocktails. (Cucamelon relish, anyone?) You can use the cucamelon whole or blend it into other meals. You can also pickle it, which will be a preparation near and dear to Southerners' hearts. Use it as you would a cucumber, and you'll spice up your cuisine with its fresh, tart, and utterly unexpected flavor. When spring arrives, start growing your own.

Plant Attributes

Cucamelon Care

Cucamelon plants love warm weather, so summer in the South is an ideal environment for them. It's best to plant them in the spring so they can germinate in plenty of time to enjoy the hot summer sun. You may want to grow them in pots to bring them indoors to keep warm when nighttime temperatures begin to drop. For daily care, cucamelon plants need full sun, regular watering, and well-drained soil to ensure they bear fruit. The cucamelon plant is a vine and will also need a trellis structure to climb as it grows. As a vine, it can spread and become invasive in areas when not correctly trained to climb a trellis or pruned.

Light

Cucamelons need at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily to bear fruit. In some areas, cucamelons can tolerate partial shade, especially in the afternoon in hot climates.

Soil

Cucamelons grow in similar soil conditions as most vegetables, which means amending it with organic matter. If your soil quality does not contain rich, fertile nutrients, add compost and a layer of mulch to help enrich the planting area. The soil should be well-drained, slightly acidic, and humus-rich. Maintaining a consistently warm soil temperature will also help cucamelons to grow. As vines, cucamelons have shallow roots. Provide a trellis for them to have space to grow.

Water

Fairly drought-tolerant, the soil should never be water-logged but should remain moist. Cucamelons need, on average, at least one inch of water weekly, which should focus on the roots. Avoid wetting cucamelon leaves at night because this can cause fungi to grow. During periods of drought, be mindful to water cucamelon more often, so the top few inches of soil remain moist.

Temperature and Humidity

Cucamelons need warm temperatures to survive. During the cold weather, you can dig up cucamelon tubers and move them indoors in container pots. These vegetables are frost-sensitive and grow best in environments mimicking their native regions in Mexico and Central America.

Fertilizer

Cucamelon plants need light fertilization with a high-potassium liquid fertilizer once or twice during the growing season. Apply the first fertilizer when cucamelon seedlings first emerge and the second in the middle of the summer during the humid season to encourage more fruit.

Pruning

Cucamelon vines need a trellis to grow. Without pruning, it can become invasive. Prune cucamelons in the spring and summer. It's best not to plant anything near cucamelons to protect its roots from spreading or for other plants to absorb the nutrients it needs. Additionally, pruning can help aerate cucamelons, which stimulates more growth. After vining to around eight feet tall, pinching the growing tips will encourage new growth, branching, and fruiting.

Propagating Cucamelon

The easiest way to propagate cucamelon is to save seeds from the previous fruit-bearing season. Here's how to propagate cucamelon using seeds:

1. Using last year's fruit, cut the cucamelon in half and remove the seeds and pulp. Gently separate the pulp from the seeds and leave them in water for a few days.
2. Remove floating seeds as they are not viable—place remaining viable seeds on a paper towel to dry.
3. Keep seeds in a cool, dry spot until a month before the final frost. Use a seed starter to propagate cucamelons.
4. Plant seeds in nutrient-rich soil a quarter or a half inch deep. For about two weeks, keep the soil moist but well-drained in the seed starter tray.—Place it in a sunny location, at least 70°F.
5. When spindly sprouts emerge, delicately transplant cucamelons to their final growing location. Be sure to plant near a trellis, so these plants have space to grow.

How to Grow Cucamelon From Seed

1. Start four to six weeks before the final frost by sowing seeds in a four-inch deep container.—This provides enough room for the roots to develop.
2. Harden off the new plants by incrementally exposing them to the colder weather.
3. Once the chance of frost passes, transplant new plants to their final location near a trellis in full sun and well-draining soil.
4. Add a nutrient-rich fertilizer to amend the soil quality and encourage new growth.

Overwintering

If growing cucamelons as annuals, then overwintering is not necessary. If growing as tender perennials, dig up the tuber and bring it indoors as the best way to protect this sun-loving plant throughout the winter. Perennial cucamelons are typically grown in containers, so the roots have an opportunity to develop roots and tubers as a strong storage vessels for nutrients. Tubers also indicate a plant is entering dormancy, which means the temperatures are dropping too low for it to continue bearing fruit. Once this occurs, move containers indoors and keep them in an area that remains warm throughout the winter.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Cucamelons do not have too many pest concerns, making them easy to grow once established. Some common diseases include powdery mildew and cucumber mosaic virus. Powdery mildew can be prevented by watering cucamelons in the morning, so the leaves have enough time to dry. Also, avoid soaking the roots before the soil has time to drain.

Since there is no cure for cucumber mosaic virus, remove leaves with dark green irregular marks appear. Remove all infected leaves and dispose of them so that it does not infect the entire plant.

How to Get Cucamelon to Bloom

Good pollination is essential for cucamelons. For cucamelons to bear fruit, they need to produce female flowers, which will develop into fruit after pollination. Male flowers do not bear fruit. Pinching vines can encourage new growth, which should appear within two to three months after transplanting. Harvesting cucamelon also helps maintain a healthy plant as old fruit that remains on the vine softens and turns yellow, stopping fruit production because the plant is dormant.

Common Problems With Cucamelons

Leaves Turning Yellow

The most common reason for leaves to turn yellow is overwatering. When cucamelons are overwatered, it deprives the plant's roots of oxygen. Double-check that the soil is well-draining. Adding fertilizer or mulch can also help absorb some excess water and restore the plant to its normal state.

Drooping Leaves

If the plant is wounded, possibly by Cucumber Beetles, it increases its susceptibility to bacterial wilt. Bacterial wilt can spread throughout the cucamelon, preventing the plant's water and nutrient transportation. Drooping or wilting leaves might appear in one or two leaves at first, but if left untreated, the bacterial wilt will spread. Treat by removing all infected areas down to the crown. Test for bacterial wilt by removing a branch near the base of the roots and snapping it to see if a sticky sap releases—a sign of bacterial wilt.