Interesting but are they truly sweet? I also find it interesting that these crack like the skins on Hami Melons (Cucumis melo), Nice Find!
Just found this thread. Very interesting. The ripe fruit in that picture looks like a cucumis that grows along the north eastern coast of Australia although that fruit is most definitely not edible raw. Bitter and nasty!
Cucurbitaceae is a fascinating family.
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@UnicornEmily I have grown them in 2022. The strain from the great breeder Lupinaster in Poland. One of the craziest webshop by the way… I recommend! even if his prices are very high, but only raritied…
Gagon were good, high yielding with some kind of exploding vining habit, and with huge leaves. Kind of fascinating. As high yielding as my Sikkim strain, and better taste also, at least for my taste! but not specifically sugary if I remember correctly
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Hold up? Which Cucumis Species are you talking about? The Edible/Medicinal Red Berry type? Or something else?
@ThomasPicard Not specifically Sugary? Hmm… It really seems like the only way to bring sweetness into Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) is with the “Nearly Impossible” Cross with MuskMelon (Cucumis melo).
Whoa! High yield in what type? Unripe Fruit or Fully Ripe Fruit too? As I understand, Harvesting Unripe Fruit Trigger More Fruiting, but will you still get ripe fruit eventually? Also Huge Leaves? Like Tropical Plants Huge?
Meaning: I harvested them when brown. Each of these cucumbers is heavy. My sikkim plants where even higher yielding, but with much smaller fruits. I received these seeds a bit late so I transplanted them later than my Sikkim, let say around the 1st of July. For their leave’size : up to 15 inches large. Cab’t find detailed pictures of these though. Sikkim had good vigor too, with slightly smaller leaves.
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That Awesome! Do you think they will ever arive in a Grocery Store? I’d love to get some seeds & Try the Fruit too!
Of that I can’t know I guess 
But you could trafe or buy some of those more surely 
I was hoping to encounter a Gardner to trade seeds with for them.
Could send some to you but with border controls it is not safe sending from Europe to the USA. I would not try. Tried once the other way round, not knowing of all these… “laws”… and it was stopped. Emily maybe if you have too many
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What did they taste like? You said they weren’t sweet. When mature, did they taste just like regular (unripe) cucumbers, or did they have their own distinct flavor?
Edited to add: I’m talking about Gagon specifically, since I’m hoping to grow it this year, but your thoughts on any other cucumbers you’ve tried with palatable ripe fruit are welcome, too.
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I see, Thank you for being willing to send.
I remember very a dense flesh, and suggestion of the seller to stir fry it, which I tried if I remember correctly. But could not tell you a lot more than this, quite crispy if I am right.
Here is what the seller says "Rare variety creating giant fruits (to 50cm = 20inch long). Delicious immature (raw) or ripe (traditionaly cooked). Good for pickles. "
I remember the density first thing.
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I am no big fan of cucumbers in general, so have a few original strains and now their crosses… But I LOVE all the melocucumbers “Armenians”, “Carosellos”, “Tortarellos”, etc. I love them: their flesh, and the fact they never get bitter. + I grow them without trelisses
Cool, thank you!
I’ll try growing mine this year, and if I think they’re good, and I have enough ripe fruits to save more seeds than I need, I’ll contribute some to the cucumber grex next year.
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@UnicornEmily Awesome! That’s gonna be fun!
@ThomasPicard Do you eat the melocucumbers immature or when Fully Ripe? I’ve noticed with some Cucumis melo, eating the unripe fruit always taste extremely bitter but, when allowed to fully ripen, the bitterness goes completely away. I’ve noticed this with the Indian Dosokai Melon (Cucumis melo) & was wondering if the Armernian types of Melocucumbers taste bitter in the seed section too? Has the bitterness simply been bred out? & how young can you eat the fruit? Even right after Pollination? Also what do the Leaves taste like? Do they make good greens like Squash leaves?
Hello, I love your questions, and then the fact that I don’t have answers to all! So what I know from experience:
- I eat - and more generally they are eaten - immature.
- I have never felt any bitterness in them, so it may or must have been bred out
- you can eat them a few weeks after pollination. First wait for fruit formation then eat it. I am mostly using them in raw salads, like usual cucumbers.
Here you will see 2 strains bred for being eaten at 2 different maturity times: PALESTINIAN ME’TEH | Buzuruna Juzuruna and ME’TEH HALABI | Buzuruna Juzuruna. By the way, and as they say and as much as I saw in my place on low fertility soil, these can be dry farmed. There will just be a difference in yield compared to irrigated ones. - I never tasted their leaves!!! Nor I tried eating squash leaves yet! So can’t tell you about thzt… But will try!
Here is the cucumber shop webpage, where there are quite a few: https://cucumbershop.com/
I cultivate 5 strains since 2021, adding up 6 or 7 new ones this year, all jumbled up. Letting them cross…
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Interesting… So many types of Melocucumbers. I wonder if it’s possible for them to taste sweet even when Unripe? I’m also interested in crossing them with sweet muskmelons for disease resistance.
PALESTINIAN ME’TEH is said to be sweet based on discription. (Not sure what stage they’re referring to). Anyways thanks for the links, It’s fascinating to see so many Melocucumbers.
Awesome! Leaves & Young Shoots are edible raw or cooked so long as they aren’t bitter.
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I kind of suspect this is very mild sweetness at immature stage. But I am not 100% sure about that. We can ask them. Looks like “armnenian” cucumber, very mildly sweet at this stage…
I am quite sure we could breed for “dual use cucumbers”… if one would go for it. Good immature, then good mature… ! I remember that harvested mature for seed production they smelt like melons, I mean muskmelon, but without the big sweeetness. They were still edible though.
Remind me of trying tests a few months from now!
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Another test I could do is with my muskmelon patch: testing melons immature: seeds of those which are good (or more likely : seeds of their brothers and sisters from the same plant^^) could go next year in the melocuke patch… could be one way towards “dual use” melons!
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For whatever it’s worth, all of my Cucumis melos that I’ve harvested a week or so unripe have tasted exactly like cucumbers.
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