Cucamelon

Cucamelon

Melothria scabra

Plant out 2 weeks after your last spring frost. Space plants 12 in (30 cm) apart.

Photo: User:Tigerente, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

When to plant

Timed from your frost dates, so it holds wherever you garden. Give yours and every step below becomes a date.

See the dates for your garden

Enter your average last spring frost and first fall frost. Every timing on this site turns into a calendar date. Not sure of yours? Your local extension service or a search for “last frost date” and your town will tell you; the app finds them from your location.

Last spring frost
First fall frost

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Optimal Spring Planting (Stored Tubers)

RootRecommended root
  1. Plant out2 weeks after your last spring frost
  2. First harvestmid-summer to fall, once established

Optimal Indoor Start

From seedRecommended from seed
  1. Start indoors2 weeks before your last spring frost
  2. Begin hardening off1 week after your last spring frost
  3. Plant out2 weeks after your last spring frost
  4. First harvestmid-summer to fall, once established

Optimal Direct Sow

From seed
  1. Sow outdoors2 weeks after your last spring frost
  2. First harvestmid-summer to fall, once established

Growing cucamelon

Spacing in the row
12 in (30 cm)
Between rows
60 in (152 cm)
Planting depth
Seed 1/4-1/2 inch; stored tubers about 3 inches deep with the crown just below the surface
Sun
Full Sun
Soil
Well-drained, rich in compost, pH 6.0-6.5
Germination
7-14 days at 70-85°F
Harvest season
Mid-Summer to Fall
Mature height
Vining, 8-10 feet when trellised
Support
Trellis
Hardy to
USDA zone 9
Life cycle
Perennial

Sow 1/4-1/2 inch deep in warm soil; start indoors in pots 3-6 weeks before setting out after frost.

Watering. About 1 inch a week; consistent moisture raises yield even though established vines tolerate dry spells.

Neighbours

The companion chart →

Grows well beside

Keep apart from

Feeding

Seedlings
Plant into soil enriched with well-rotted compost; seedlings need little extra feed.
Growing
Side-dress with 2-4 inches of well-rotted compost in midsummer, kept away from the stems.
Flowering and fruiting
Drench with a liquid organic fertilizer once plants begin to flower heavily.
How often
At planting, then twice during the season: compost at planting and midsummer, and one liquid feed at heavy bloom.
Note
Go light: excess fertilizer can rot the tubers.

Your cucamelon, planned to the day.

Canopy turns these timings into dates from your own frost data, places every plant at its spacing on your garden map, and tracks it all the way to harvest.

Add cucamelon to your planting calendar →

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