Content
Melotria rough is now gaining popularity among exotic lovers. The relative unpretentiousness and very original appearance of the fruits encourages gardeners to grow this plant on their site. Melotria rough - "cucumber" with a secret. And you can get from the plant not only "mouse watermelons".
What a plant melotria
The fame of the Mexican liana cannot be compared with its "fellow countrymen": potatoes, corn and tomatoes. This vine is native to Central America, where it received many other local names:
- mouse melon;
- Mexican sour gherkin;
- cucamelon (compilation of english cucumber and melon);
- Mexican miniature watermelon;
- Mexican sour cucumber;
- pepkin.
The origin of these names becomes absolutely clear if you look at the photo of a rough melotria and taste it once. They look like very small watermelons and smell like cucumbers. The taste is also cucumber, but with a slight sourness.
In the Russian-speaking space, the liana received 2 more names: mouse watermelon and African cucumber. At the same time, the second name has no grounds. Melotria is not an African cucumber and has nothing to do with Africa at all. Even to Equatorial.
With a high degree of probability, the confusion was due to the appearance of the fruits. Someone heard that the real watermelon comes from South Africa and decided that the melotria is rough and there is such a wild African watermelon. False information spreads quickly these days.
In fact, rough melotria was domesticated in Central America. Researchers believe that this happened even before the European colonization of the continents.
Description
Melotria rough is a perennial vine from the pumpkin family. Belongs to the genus Melotria, numbering about 166 species. Most of this genus can only be used as ornamental plants. The fruits of melotria rough are also eaten.
Vine leaves are three-segment, triangular in shape. Pubescent. All 3 segments have sharp ends. The plant is monoecious. Both male and female flowers grow on one liana. Male ones are collected in knots of several pieces, female ones grow one by one. Flowers are yellow, funnel-shaped. The lash grows up to 3 m over the summer.
In the homeland of vines, mouse watermelons or melotria are considered weed... Well deserved. This is an unpretentious weed. Like any self-respecting weed, melotria rough does not put all its eggs in one basket, multiplying only by seeds. By the end of the vegetative period, tubers are formed on the roots of melotria rough by the end of the vegetative period, which allow the plant not to spend 3 weeks next year for seed germination.
In hot climates, the tubers on the roots will not allow you to finally destroy the once planted rough melotria. Although sometimes such a need arises. The Mexican liana is an aggressive plant. If it grows on the ground, then it suppresses any other shoots. But in Mexico and tropical America there are no subzero temperatures, while in Russia, even in the south, the thermometer in winter drops below zero. Therefore, in Russia, the liana passes into the category of annual plants and can only reproduce by seeds.
Varieties of melotria rough
Given the theoretical duration of the domestication period for melotria, there should be hundreds of varieties today, differing in color, flavor, and size. In reality, there are only plants with berries about 3 centimeters long and color variations within the normal range.
Among the European colonialists, neither in America, nor in Europe, there is no talk about any varieties of this plant. On Western sites, they actively sell seeds and give instructions for growing rough melotria, but they do not mention a word about the varieties. All references to any variety refer to Russian firms selling seed. Therefore, you need to be careful about the problem of varietal reproduction of melotria rough. That does not negate the high qualities of this plant. But "mouse watermelons" are still an "unplowed field" for breeding firms. Yes, and during the sale it is often indicated that the variety is new.
Melotria Hummingbird
There is no data on the distinctive qualities of the Kolibri variety from the usual Melothria scabra. Therefore, it is not known whether the company "Gavrish" is really the originator of the variety, or they simply named the seeds of an ordinary wild vine that way. The description of the variety boils down to Melothria scabra, and the method of growing melotria of the Kolibri variety is no different from the “cucumber” one.
This is correct, since the main terms of sowing and further care in a mouse watermelon really almost completely coincide with a cucumber vine. Even in abundant watering, they need the same.
Melotria Mini cucumber
Strictly speaking, even the name indicates that this is not a variety, but simply someone did not have enough imagination to describe the berry, or tracing paper from the English "guerkin" - gherkin was used. This is not a cucumber, as there are certain differences. The minimum is a different kind of plant. Outwardly, the berries are also unlike gherkins.
But the principles of growing and harvesting are the same as those of cucumber crops. Only here you don't need to pinch.
Melotria Shapito
But here, on the contrary, someone has a rich imagination. Manipulations with the "varieties" of a wild plant cannot be called anything other than a circus. You can safely buy, focusing on the botanical description of melotria rough. Liana is really well suited for decorative landscaping of balconies, gazebos and fences. The main thing is not to buy an inedible species of this kind of plants.
Melotria Baby
Also a fair name. Berries up to 3 cm in size cannot be called otherwise than babies. But this word is not suitable as a variety name. The berries are small anyway. How much smaller to make them.
Melotria rough Mouse melon
The Mouse Melon variety does not exist. This is a "common" common name for rough melotria. Along with the "mouse watermelon". In fact, "mouse melon" is the wild ancestor of the cultivated rough melotria. But on sale there are packages of seeds called "mouse melon". You just have to remember that this is not a specially bred variety.
The benefits and harms of rough melotria
Even in the western market, these fruits have appeared and have become fashionable quite recently. In America they are called the "forgotten heritage." Due to the lack of data on the beneficial properties of melotria and contraindications to its use, no one can reliably tell yet, therefore, they are guided by the cucumber and the obvious properties.
There is a lot of fiber in any fruit or vegetable with a tough skin. Therefore, berries contain a lot of fiber, which helps to normalize bowel function. Also, melotria contains micro and macro elements:
- calcium;
- sodium;
- magnesium;
- phosphorus;
- potassium;
- iron.
They are found in any plant, since the development of flora is impossible without them. Vitamins C and B₉ are present in fruits. Mouse melon also contains some kind of acid. Most likely, it is oxalic or lemon. But there may be other types of acids, due to which the melotria rough berry has a sour taste.
Melotria is useful for dieting. To the same extent as a cucumber. It is just as watery and low in calories.
Contraindications so far also indicate the same as for cucumber:
- increased acidity in the stomach;
- gastritis;
- stomach ulcer.
Melotria is somewhat more dangerous than cucumber due to its high acid content.
Pickled fruits are not recommended for people with certain diseases of internal organs:
- gastrointestinal tract;
- of cardio-vascular system;
- liver;
- kidneys.
Do not abuse salted or pickled melotria for people with hypertension and atherosclerosis.
Growing melotria from seeds
Growing melotria rough from seeds methodologically again coincides with cucumbers. Breeding Melotria is a little easier, as it does not even require the care that cucumber bushes need.
Seeds of mouse melon for seedlings are planted at the same time as cucumber seeds: in February-March. The vine is not demanding on the soil and grows well in loamy soil. But for seedlings, it is better to choose nutritious soil. The one that goes for cucumbers will do.
The seed is simply pressed into the ground with a sharp end and thoroughly watered with warm water. For the germination of rough melotria, an air temperature of + 24 ° C is needed. On Russian-language sites, by analogy with other pumpkin seeds, there is information about the germination of melotria seeds within 3-5 days.
Foreign sites "unanimously" assert that the main difference between the rough melotria and its "relatives" is a very long germination time. Vine sprouts take 3-4 weeks to emerge from the ground. And the higher the air temperature, the faster the seeds will germinate. Therefore, if the purchased "varietal" seeds did not germinate after a week, you need to wait another 3 weeks before being disappointed and throwing out melotria. Germination is best done on a sunny windowsill. The earth should also warm up. After the first 2-3 true leaves have developed, the air temperature can be reduced to + 18-21 ° C.
Seedlings are planted in a heated greenhouse in March, in an unheated one in May or even later in open ground. The planting scheme is the same as for a cucumber. At first, the vine grows very slowly, but then development accelerates. Melotria should not be left to curl on the ground, it begins to rot. For this, the plants are placed retaining walls or trellises. You can make a hedge out of vines.
The site for planting is chosen protected from the wind and well warmed up by the sun. You cannot plant mouse melon where other pumpkin species grew last year. As a relative, it is susceptible to the same diseases and pests. Melotria is hygrophilous. The soil under the vine should always be moist.
Harvesting
The fruits begin to be harvested in July. The main harvest ends in September, but in warm climates, the vine can bear fruit until December. Still unripe fruits are harvested for food. The edible berries reach a length of 2.5 cm, but are still firm and strong. In this form, they are used for salads, preservation and preparation of other dishes. Melotria rough overripe in the same way as other pumpkin seeds: the fruits acquire a very tough skin.
After the harvest is harvested and the vine has dried up, you need to dig up the edible tubers formed on the roots. These formations taste like sweet potato.
How to collect melotria seeds
Overripe fruits are used to collect seeds. It is best to pick up the berries that have fallen to the ground and leave them on a tray indoors for another 1-2 weeks. After that, the fruits are cut and the seeds are removed from them. The resulting mass is placed in a jar of water and left for 5 days.
During this time, pathogenic organisms have time to die, and the seeds are sorted by quality.The best seeds sink to the bottom of the jar. After 5 days of infusion, the contents of the jar are poured into a strainer and washed well. The seeds remaining in the sieve are laid out on a clean surface in a cool, well-ventilated room and dried for 2 weeks.
After drying, the seeds are transferred to an airtight jar and placed in a cool dry place. With proper storage, the germination of melotria seeds lasts up to 10 years.
Tuber propagation
If you don't want to wait 3 weeks before the first seed germinates, and there are conditions for storage, melotria can be propagated by tubers. In late autumn, they need to be dug up and placed in the basement. The tubers are stored in slightly damp peat. They are planted in a permanent place after the ground has warmed up.
Melotria recipes
The berries of this liana almost completely replace cucumbers in taste and smell, so there are no special recipes for rough melotria. It is used where cucumbers are used. Preparations of melotria rough for the winter are also made according to the "cucumber" recipe. The same goes for salads, pickles, or preserves.
The advantage of this berry is that children really like little "watermelons". Kids don't need to be forced to eat these fruits. Children often eat them right on the spot, tearing them off the vines.
Melotria pickling recipe
There are marinade recipes for any product in every family. You can try different ingredients and proportions. In the case of rough melotria, it is enough to choose one of those marinades that are suitable for cucumbers:
- 1 kg of fruit;
- 2 bay leaves;
- 2 dill umbrellas with seeds;
- 5 cloves of garlic;
- ½ hot pepper pod;
- a teaspoon of vinegar essence;
- 70 g salt;
- 100 g of sugar.
Rinse the fruits, garlic, laurel and dill thoroughly and pour over with boiling water. Put in sterilized jars, add salt and sugar. Pour in boiling water and wait until the salt and sugar dissolve. Drain the brine and boil again. Pour the jars again and add the vinegar. Close the covers tightly.
Salting melotria
Open-cut salting is again borrowed from cucumbers. The fruits are poured with brine, to which salt, vinegar and sugar are added to taste. For aroma, put garlic, black pepper, dill root, and other spices. Such a product is intended for quick use, since there is no sterility.
Melotria jam
The recipe for making jam is again borrowed from the cucumber culture, and the technique from the gooseberry. Young fruits are taken for jam. Rough melotria does not need to be peeled, there is too little pulp and a lot of water under it. Cooked for jam from whole fruits. You can prick them with a needle, like a gooseberry.
Ingredients:
- mouse watermelons 500 g;
- 1 lemon;
- 1 orange;
- cinnamon stick;
- star anise asterisk;
- 2 boxes of cardamom;
- 300 g sugar;
- vanilla to taste.
The orange is cut into cubes and pitted. Juice is squeezed out of the lemon. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan, add a little water and put on fire. After the liquid boils, the flame is reduced and boiled until thickened for 40-50 minutes.
Reviews of growing melotria Hummingbird
Conclusion
Rough melotria is a completely new plant for Russia. It turned out to be not quite old for "native" America either. Due to its unpretentiousness, it will be able to replace cucumbers, since these plants are the same in terms of thermophilicity, and the hassle with a mouse watermelon is much less.
