Other Cucumbers - Real Seeds

‘Liso Calcuta’ Antilles Cucumber
£2.49 Cucumber Seeds
Melothrie (aka Cucamelon)
£2.59 Cucumber Seeds
Smooth or Round Loofa
£2.27 Cucumber Seeds

‘Liso Calcuta’ Antilles Cucumber - LIMITED GUEST VARIETY FOR TRIAL

This is a new one - a domesticated version of the wild-type West Indian Gherkin we had years ago, bred for a smoother skin and bigger fruit. It is a climbing plant with lots of little tendrils and leaves a bit smaller than a normal cucumber would have.

Use the 2” fruit as cucumbers, & they also make good pickles. Pick them young for best flavour, it will make lots more. Do provide a bit a netting for it to scramble up; this definitely will do well in a polytunnel or greenhouse, and may do well outdoors in a sunny summer.

Join in with our research! Guest varieties are interesting new ones we haven't tested fully yet. As a crowd-sourced trial, this is your chance to help find out what does well all across the UK, so let us know what you think of them - they'll only be in the catalogue in future years if lots of people email in to say it was really good!

14 seed £2.49

Stock: 79

Melothrie (aka Cucamelon)

We are pleased to be able to offer another unusual cucumber relative given to us many years ago by Bruno Ansker from France. It's a rampant scrambling vine covered in hundreds of little green & white fruit about an inch long. Very, very easy to grow and great fun.

Here you can see them growing up a bit of netting in the polytunnel of our seed grower, Melissa Holloway. They are fairly unfussy - can get to about 7 or even 8 ft high in a good summer, but they'll also grow over lower netting if that's all you have.

These little fruit taste just like a cucumber and have a nice fresh crunchy texture. They're great for pickles, stirfry, & they look really good whole in salads. Everyone who tries them thinks they're great!

We like to put out a bowl of them (whole) for nibbles at parties, or try them halved as the perfect garnish for a G&T.

Grow outdoors in a sunny spot, or will really take off under cover.

20 seed £2.59

Stock: 100+

Note: This is one of these plants that still need their scientific classification sorted out. Some people say it should be called Melothria scabra, others think it is better called Apodanthera pringlei. Actually, the whole classification of this branch of the cucurbits is a bit vague - and one day no doubt some specialist somewhere (with more time than us!) will get enthusiastic enough to grow them all next to each other and sort it all out.

Smooth or Round Loofa

A climbing vegetable from Egypt, Vietnam and China, also spelt Luffa. It makes cylindrical fruit that are picked young and green (under 6 inches) and used fried, curried or boiled ( like a courgette), and has beautiful yellow flowers. Grow up netting in a polytunnel or greenhouse only (it needs a long warm summer).

Delicious eaten small, inedibly fibrous when large, but then can be used as a pot scourer - check your invoice sheet for instructions.

12 seed £2.27

Stock: 100+