It’s heavy duty harvest time. There’s a constant to-do of picking, packing, and preserving. It’s intense and hot and beautiful. But right now, I’m loving these. They look like little baby watermelons….
Mexican Sour Gherkins, melothria scabra, technically speaking. They are a relative to cucumbers, but not close enough to create an issue in our seed saving schemes. We picked them from a seed catalog on a bit of a whim, with the kids of course. We only have three plants, but they have covered a tomato cage, in the midst of a row of tomatillos and cherry tomatoes. And they have borne fruit in abundance, none of it larger than the end of my thumb!
I wouldn’t grow these sweet little things for market, but for summer family snack-time – they’re a winner.
The fruit is crunchy, cucumber-y, and yes, when fully ripe, a tiny bit sour. In the morning, before the sun begins to roast the garden, it is a great pleasure to make this tiny harvest. If Levon doesn’t eat them all, I may make a jar of pickles from them yet!
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen or eaten one… thanks for sharing!
It helps keep the fun in the garden. Hope you’ll give it a try. Thanks for reading!
Hello Coree. We grew a small patch of these as well this season and did manage to put up several pickled pints. I did a bit of research and found that they are a hot item for cocktail embellishment in many upscale gourmet markets fetching a price of $25.00/lb.
Hi Myron! Heavens to Mergatroid – I might consider growing them for market at $25 per lb. I hope you’re having a great season!