How to grow Cucamelon

Melothria scabra

🥕 Vegetable 🌱 Grown each year

Grape-sized fruits that look like tiny watermelons and taste of cucumber with a squeeze of lime. A dainty climber for a greenhouse, sunny wall or pot.

At a glance: Sow early March to late March, harvest from early July.

When to sow, plant and harvest

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Sow indoors

Plant

Flowers

Harvest

Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.

Growing Cucamelon: what it needs

Light: Full sun · 6+ hours a day
Watering: Water regularly in dry weather
Soil: Fertile, well-drained soil
Spacing: 30 cm
In pots: Grows well in containers
Feeding: A general feed before sowing or planting
Harvest: About 110 days from sowing
Hardiness: USDA zones 3–11
Difficulty: Easy

Step by step

Early March – late March · 6 weeks before the last spring frost
Sow Seeds Indoors
Sow in modules or small pots of seed compost under cover. Sow 1 cm deep at 20–25°C; germination is slow and patchy.
7–21 days after “Sow Seeds Indoors” · Mid March – late March
Check Germination
Seedlings should appear in 7–21 days. If sown outdoors, thin to 30 cm apart when big enough to handle.
14–21 days after “Check Germination” · Late March – early April
Pot On Seedlings
Move seedlings into 9 cm pots (or keep in modules) when they have their first true leaves.
Late April · 11 days after the last spring frost
Harden Off
Stand plants outside by day for 7–10 days before planting out.
Early May – early June · 3 weeks after the last spring frost
Plant Out
Plant out 30 cm apart and water in well.
7–21 days after “Plant Out” · Mid May – late May
Add Support
Give each plant a cane, trellis or strings to scramble up — it climbs to 2–3 m.
30–45 days after “Add Support” · Mid June – late June
Start Feeding
Feed every 7–10 days with tomato feed once the first flowers appear.
60–81 days after “Plant Out” · Early July – late July
Start Harvesting
Pick when the size of a grape and still firm — they turn sour and seedy if left.
75–105 days after “Start Harvesting” · Mid September – mid October
Finish and Clear
Clear plants after the first frost. The fat roots can be lifted, stored in dry compost frost-free and replanted next spring.