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Fee
Joined: 21 Mar 2005 Posts: 15922 Location: Earth
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Posted: Fri Oct 27, 06 9:48 am Post subject: Exploding Cucumbers |
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This year's realseeds catalogue arrived the other day, and while perusing it, I came across something I'd never heard of, 'Exploding Cucumbers'.
Has anyone ever grown them??
www.realseeds.co.uk wrote: |
'The Exploding Cucumber'
The Achocha have always been a great hit both with us and everyone who has tried them. So we were intrigued to find that they have close relative known as the Exploding Cucumber, whose Latin name is - quite aptly - "Cyclanthera explodens". We've been after these for ages and ages - and finally managed to get hold of some seed last year, and they are now growing well outdoors and in the polytunnel.
Anyways, these grow similarly to the Achocha - a tendrilly climbing vine - although a little slower. The fruit are similar, except having an even weirder shape, and when mature, they burst open at the slightest touch, flinging their seeds out across the garden!
Eating use is the same as Achocha; the fruit can be used small (1/2 inch) in salads or mature (1 inch, exploded) cooked. No need to deseed them first as they do this for you at the slightest provocation! They are of course also an excellent thing to enter in your local horticultural show for the 'unusually shaped vegetable' category.
We are sorry that the packet is smaller than we would like, and the price is higher than we would like too. However, this due to the obvious difficulties involved in seed collection . . . . . . . |
And comes with a health warning
Not sure I'd want to grow them, but the seeds might make good Christmas pressies to veg-growing friends. |
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judith
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Penny Outskirts
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Fee
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