We went to our local garden centre last week to pick up some plants. As we are still waiting for our veg plugs from Marshalls to be delivered (itβs now been over two months now) I browsed through the veg section and an adorable little plant Iβd never seen before caught my attention: cucamelons.

As foodies, weβre intrigued by different flavours and vegetables, but I didnβt really give this plant much thought after I planted it last week, until yesterday, when our first cucamelon plant flowered and started producing its first fruit.
I know itβs odd to refer to a vegetable as cute and adorable, but cucamelons really are ridiculously cute and adorable because of their dinky size. The fruit in the picture below is about 3mm in length. Itβs tiny.

So what are cucamelons?
They are tiny Mexican cucumbers with a taste twist, and are also referred to as mouse melons or mini watermelons. Itβs a fruit of the Melothria scabra vine and cucamelons grow to the size of a grape and resemble miniature watermelons. So cool.
I mentioned a taste twist. The taste is pure cucumber with a hint of lime. Amazing. I cannot wait to try them. Adding these to salads should liven them up, and theyβll probably work in salsas too adding flavor and colour. The mind is racing because cucumber and lime as flavours work with so many things – what about adding them to cocktails? Itβs very exciting isnβt it?
If this wasnβt enough, thereβs also a push to give cucamelons superfood status because theyβre jam packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants, and their nutrient makeup can help lower the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer. Not surprisingly, theyβre also low cal.
Iβm thrilled to have come across this plant because itβs added some exotic variety to our patch. We will post updates on our cucamelon journey.
Learn more about cucamelons in the UK here.
[…] Cucamelons […]
We started some from seed for the first time, this year. A friend of mind grew them successfully in our province, so I knew it could be done in our climate. I am really looking forward to seeing how they do and, hopefully, having a crop to try!
I’d never heard of cucamelons before and just picked them up as a filler for our veg patch at the garden centre, and now they’re probably my favourite plant in the veg patch this year. I can’t wait to try them.
I’ve read that growing them from seed is tricky, so well done on getting yours going.
Awesome!
They are not something we can buy from any garden centers here. Maybe in a year or two. I certainly would have preferred that route. We weren’t even able to plant them in the spot we planned for them. ???? We shall see how they do!
Let’s compare notes when we’ve harvested and enjoyed them in salsas, salads and cocktails.
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