15 Seeds/Pkt - Approx 250 seeds/gram

(Melothria scabra) 

Also known as a Mexican Sour Gherkin, this cucumber relative produces an abundance of grape sized fruit which resemble miniature watermelons rather than cucumbers.

Native to Mexico and Central America the mouse melon was included in the diet of pre-Columbian Indian tribes.

Despite their size these little fruits have a delightfully yet slightly sour cucumber flavour that varies depending on when picked. Younger fruits are more cucumber like with mature fruits becoming increasingly sour, like a gherkin! Use raw added to salads whole or sliced and even to salsa sauces. May also be pickled as for other gherkins or chopped and cooked in stir-fry.

Grow as for cucumbers, preferably on a support. The mouse melon however is a delicate vine that is slow to establish but when growing strong can crop heavily. Crop will reduce in excessive summer heat or dryness, but usually improving again towards autumn as temperatures reduce. A pleasure to grow and kid’s love them, the Mouse Melon is as at home in the ornamental garden as it is in the vegetable garden.