How to grow cucamelons

These dinky little cucamelons are a really fun addition to the kitchen garden. They are relatively new on the veg scene (well, they’ve been on the Mexican veg scene for centuries, but not here in the UK!) but they are surprisingly easy to grow and very pretty, too. They taste a lot like cucumber but are bite-sized and perfect for summer salads.

Cucamelons will grow well either in beds (15-20cm apart), containers or grow bags outside in a sunny spot. They are incredibly easy to grow, with little to worry about in terms of pest and disease. They are usually ready to plant out a little later than other veg as they need the extra warmth to get going in spring, so don’t be surprised if you don’t receive your seedlings until late spring.

They will need something to climb up, and can easily reach around 1.5m to 2m in height. You could pop a bamboo cane in the ground for them to scramble up, cutting off the growing tip when it reaches the top of the cane, or plant a few around the base of a wigwam, trellis or just get them growing up your garden fence.

Keep them well watered as they are thirsty little things. When they reach the size of a grape and are nice and firm, they are ready to harvest. Be sure to harvest them before they turn a bit squashy!