Interesting looking cucumber melon from Africa
Kiwano is also called Horned Melon, African Horned Melon, jelly melon, blowfish fruit, melano. It originates from Africa, but the plant is also grown in other parts of the world. The fruits look like an oval melon with horns. It’s ripe when the skin is yellow and the inside is lime green. Mostly used for decoration, it’s also perfectly edible with a cucumber courgette kind of taste when picked green and if allowed to ripen on the vine a combination of banana, melon and cucumber.
Scientific Name: cucumis Metuliferus
Plant Life Cycle: annual
Optimal Germination Temperature: 20-35 C
Germination time in days: 14-21 days
Indicative Days to maturity: 60 days
Sunlight: Full sun
Soil requirement: well drained
Sowing and cultivation: Sow seeds directly into the growing bed or desired container at a soil temperature of at least 20C when all chances of frost have passed. Cover them with a thin layer of soil.
