«Armenian Cucumber» - Organic Melon Seeds
1.39 €
Early variety (70-80 days) for growing outdoors and greenhouses. It is a type of long, slender fruit which tastes like a cucumber. It is actually a variety of muskmelon a species closely related to the cucumber. It is also known as the yard-long cucumber.
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Heirloom melon «Armenian Cucumber»
Early variety (70-80 days) for growing outdoors and greenhouses. It is a type of long, slender fruit which tastes like a cucumber. It is actually a variety of muskmelon, a species closely related to the cucumber.
It is also known as the yard-long cucumber, snake cucumber, snake melon. The skin is very thin, light green, and bumpless. It has no bitterness and the fruit is almost always used without peeling. The Armenian cucumber grows approximately 30 to 36 inches long. It grows equally well on the ground or on a trellis. Armenian cucumber plants prefer to grow in full sun for most of the day. The fruit is most flavorful when it is 12-15 inches long.
Growing as usual melon
How to grow
Sow
Sow two seeds 1.5cm (1/2in) deep from mid- to late April, in a propagator or on a sunny windowsill at 18-21ºC (64-70ºF). Remove the strongest seedling after germination. Harden off (acclimatise to outdoor conditions) from late May to early June, once there is no danger of frost, and when they have three or four leaves.
Grow
Melons are tender plants, so need a warm, sunny spot with high humidity. In the UK it is best to grow in a glasshouse, polytunnel or under a cloche or in a coldframe. Melons need a rich, fertile, moisture retentive, deep and well-drained soil. Three to four weeks before planting, prepare the ground by removing weeds and incorporating up to two bucketfuls of organic matter and a modest dressing of general purpose fertiliser. Water well and cover in clear polythene for a week before planting to warm the soil.
Pinch out the growing point at the fifth leaf to encourage side shoots, when they appear, retain the four strongest and remove the others. In a coldframe, train the four shoots into an X shape. Under cloches, train one pair each way. In very sunny weather, shade indoor crops with netting or whitewash on the glass. Keep well watered at all times. When fruit are the size of walnuts, feed with a high potash potassium liquid fertiliser every 7-10 days. Stop feeding and reduce watering when the fruits start to ripen and foliage dies back.
Increase ventilation and remove shading once plants become established, but remember to re-apply shading later in summer if temperatures exceed 25ºC.
Harvesting
Harvest when they produce the characteristic melon fragrance and the fruits start to crack near the stem.