Cucamelons

Every year I grow a bountiful supply of tomatoes in our veggie patch. Home grown tomatoes are wonderful things, so bursting with flavour and perfect for the tiny space we have available. I've experimented with many other crops over the years with mixed success, but I may have just found something to compete with the tomatoes - cucamelons.

Cucamelons, also called Mexican Sour Cucumbers, are tiny bite sized cucumbers. They are the size of a grape tomato, look like a miniature watermelon and taste just like a cucumber. I'm still getting used to the experience of eating them. They don't have the explosion of flavour that you get from a grape tomato but have more crunch than a piece of cucumber. And they are prolific! I can see why there are so many recipes for pickling them, I would say that in the next couple of weeks we are going to be inundated.

I grew them from direct sown seeds (bought from the amazing Diggers Club) so they have taken a while to get to fruiting stage. Next year I think I will grow them as seedlings so that I can get them in the ground earlier, but now that they have hit the fruiting point, I'm thinking of all the possibilities of what I can do with the fruit.

I find it really exciting to be growing a vegetable that I've never seen before, only read about and having had a browse of the Diggers Club website I realise there are so many options out there. I can imagine that at some point in the future when we have a decent sized back yard I will grow all sorts of amazing things.

Do you grow your own veggies? And have you discovered any unusual and exciting crops along the way.