How To Cut A Pepino Melon

The Pepino melon is actually not a melon but fruit from the nightshade family similar to tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and peppers. It's called a melon though because of its melon-similar flavor. It is best grown in USDA hardiness zones 9-13, as a perennial, but tin can also be grown as an annual in climates with more frost by starting indoors and overwintering in a greenhouse or within. Learn how y'all can grow your own Pepino melon, how to know when it is ripe, and how to eat information technology.

Pepino Melon Quick Facts

• Botanical Name—Solanum muricatum
• Mutual Names—Pepino melon, pepino dulce meaning sugariness cucmber, and melon pear
• Establish Type—perennial fruit in warm climates or wintered in a greenhouse, though it tin exist an annual in frost-decumbent climate if started indoors
• Size—tin vine up to six 1/2 feet tall
• Spacing—½ deep, 18-36 inches between plants, provide a trellis
• Ideal Climate—total sun, USDA Zones 9-11 or indoors in cooler climates, nighttime temps 65 F and up
• Can it Be Started Indoors and Transplanted—yes
• Taste—melon and cucumber
• Growth—6 to 12 months from seed to harvest
• Harvesting—look for fruit lx to lxxx days after the white and purple blossoms announced, harvest when the fruit turns a deep color and is slightly soft to the touch

What is a Pepino Melon?

A Pepino melon is also known as a sweet cucumber, melon pear, or Pepino dulce. These fruits are the size of your palm or virtually the size of a medium avocado. They can be rounded or pear-shaped, and often appear cream to xanthous colored with deep purple striping. Because at that place or and so many different varieties of Pepino melon, not all announced this color, and some are more green without the majestic stripping.

The fruit has shiny pare with soft flesh and seeds within that are pale orange similar a cantaloupe. The Pepino melon is a member of the nightshade family and originates from the Andean regions of Columbia, Peru, and Republic of chile.

What Does a Pepino Melon Taste Like and How do Yous Eat information technology?

Pepino melons sense of taste similar to a cantaloupe or honeydew melon with a hint of cucumber flavor. They are very light tasting, juicy, and pleasant to eat.

The entire fruit can be eaten, including the skin, much similar y'all would an apple off the co-operative. However the pare can exist a bit tough, then many people like to skin them first, and so eat them. They are great sliced and added to fruit salad, added to cereal, or a yogurt parfait

Underripe Pepino melon can also be baked similar you would a squash. Sweet cucumber is too great in smoothies or chopped and added to salsa.

Where Practice Pepino Melons Come From?

The Pepino melons are not establish in the wild merely were domesticated in the temperate areas of the Andes Mountains in Peru, Republic of colombia, and Chile. The fruit was grown in San Diego in 1889 and continues to be grown for upscale markets across the world.

The Pepino melons have slowly been growing in popularity amid backyard gardeners. However, they tin be difficult to source in North America and are more popular in Europe and Australia. Y'all can oft have luck finding Pepino melon seeds or even better, cuttings, in online seed exchanges or small growers on Etsy. Y'all tin too order Pepion seeds online from the UK , only keep in mind they will take several weeks to arrive.

How Exercise I Plant Pepino Melon Seeds?

Seeds —When planting Pepino melon from seed, proceed in mind they can accept from 6 to 12 months to deport fruit. They also won't bear fruit unless the dark temperatures are 65 F and above. Considering of this, y'all'll need to institute Pepino melon seeds according to your zone.

Hardiness Zones one-eight

If y'all are starting a Pepino plant from seed and alive in zones 1 through 8, it is best to beginning it in a pot indoors in the fall or early wintertime. Pepino melons also practise uncommonly well in heated greenhouses during libation months.

In the late leap when all threat of frost is over, and nighttime temperatures are consistently 65 F and above, you harden off your plants by watering them less and taking them outside for increasing hours each twenty-four hour period for a week. This volition toughen up your plants to handle the more harsh temperature swings and direct sunlight of the outdoors.

We recommend you exit your Pepino melon bushes in their own pots rather than planting them in the ground in your garden. This will make information technology easy to carry your plants indoors or into the greenhouse to overwinter them.

Hardiness Zones 9-13

The warmer climates with niggling risk of frost in zones nine through thirteen are platonic growing

conditions for the Pepino melon plant. You have the option of growing them in the ground, in raised beds , in pots, and even in hanging planters if you'd like. Though if you live in zone nine and nonetheless get some libation weather, be ready with ingather covers to assistance your outdoor plants along, or bring them inside.

Watering —When y'all get-go constitute your Pepino melon seeds, whether in the basis or in containers indoors, you'll need to water them frequently until they germinate. Anywhere from twice a day, to every other day, is good for watering seeds. Make up one's mind how oft to h2o by checking the wet of your soil. You lot don't desire the soil around your seeds drying out completely, merely you too don't desire to drown your seeds. Merely bank check the soil by sticking your finger to test the wet and water accordingly.

Once your seeds accept germinated and are grown, about i to 2 weeks subsequently planting, you can brainstorm to water less often. Information technology's best to water an established garden more securely and infinite waterings further autonomously rather than daily. In general, gardens tin be soaked with 1 inch of water or rain one time a week. If you get rain, you only need to supplement whatever corporeality of water is left up to 1 inch of rain.

Soil —Pepino melon plants need good drainage, so you'll want to make certain you take a expert mix of organic compost and high-quality topsoil. Perfect soil should be able to pass the squeeze test. If you lot squeeze information technology in your paw, it will concord together. But if you run your fingers through it, information technology will fall autonomously.

If your soil is too difficult, consider amending it with compost to allow for better drainage and oxygen. If you lot are using raised beds or tilling soil into your inground garden bed, effort one of these soil recipes. Call back, your garden will only be equally good as your soil.

There are many dissimilar recipes for the best garden soil, but the two most pop are:

• sixty/xxx/x—sixty% topsoil, thirty% compost, and 10% potting soil (this is actually a soilless blend of peat moss, vermiculite, and/or perlite.
• fifty/50—50% topsoil and fifty% compost

When buying your topsoil, you'll need to do a niggling sleuthing to make sure it's good quality. Signs of high-quality topsoil are:

• Regionally sourced ingredients listed on the handbag
• Nationally recognized compost certification on the bag
• Passes the squeeze test, sticks together when squeezed, merely then falls apart again when you lot run your fingers through it
• Is not fill-clay that some companies mistakenly telephone call top-soil

How do I Grow Pepino Melons From Cuttings?

You can besides grow Pepino melon plans from cuttings. These are best found from some other home gardener in an online garden grouping or seed exchange, or from a small seller on Etsy. You can also propagate your own cuttings to add to your home garden, or to share with other gardeners.

Stems from the Pepino melon institute that grows on the ground can naturally propagate themselves. You will detect these stems laid on the ground will beginning growing roots of their ain. This is some other reason to add a trellis or muzzle to your Pepino melon plant if you don't want information technology making baby plants that take upwards valuable root space from your mother institute.

You can encourage this self-propagation by laying a few branches from your mother found on the soil, then loosely covering them. In one case they take established a solid root blueprint of their own, you can cut the new starts from the mother plant to make information technology a new Pepino melon plant, and transfer information technology to a new pot.

If you are able to find Pepino melon institute cuttings, you lot can either get-go them in water or in soil. Starting them in soil may take a week longer for them to grow roots than starting in h2o. Starting your cuttings in water is also fun considering yous become to watch the procedure. But either method works well.

If you grow your Pepino melon cuttings in h2o, you'll desire to place it in a sunny spot about a window, but also without direct sunlight. Brand sure to modify the h2o every 3 to iv days. Ensure no leaves are touching the h2o, you only want your stems in the h2o. This process should take almost two weeks, and then you tin can transfer your cuttings into a pot with soil or a garden if you alive in a warm climate.

If you grow your Pepino melon cuttings in soil, make certain that information technology drains well. Water your cuttings daily, and identify them in a spot that gets enough of indirect sunlight. One time you take practiced roots growing nigh three weeks afterward, y'all tin can move it to a larger pot, or into your garden.

Do I need a Trellis for My Pepino Melon Plant?

The Pepino melon grows similar a vining bush, and it is recommended to take a trellis or cage and grow your Pepino melons much like you would tomatoes. The trellis or cage can go on the ripe fruits from weighing down the plant as well much. Information technology will also assistance keep the vines off the basis where they can attract pests or go stepped on.

Since the Pepino melon institute will propagate on its ain, information technology'south also a skillful idea to utilize a trellis or love apple cage. When its vines grow and affect the soil, those branches tin can grow their ain root system which will end upwardly crowding your pot and taking up valuable nutrients from the soil. You can either cut these new starts and make new plants or assistance train them up to your trellis.

If you desire to try your Pepino melon in a hanging basket, y'all don't need to apply a trellis. It volition simply grow out and over the hanging basket and give you lot beautiful flowers and fruits.

How Long Do Pepino Melons Take to Abound?

Since the Pepino melon is a warm-weather perennial plant, information technology does take longer to grow. You can expect anywhere from six months upward to a year to harvest fruit if y'all have started your Pepino melon from seed. The biggest determining factor in how long your Pepino melon takes to produce fruit is your weather. Pepino melon plants like temperatures of 65 F and above on a consequent basis to actually accept off. It takes anywhere between 30 to 80 days from the time your plant flowers until it produces fruit.

If yous're struggling to get your Pepino melon establish to abound, the most likely culprit is your temperature. You can endeavour keeping your potted plant inside near a window until your nighttime temperatures are above 65 F. You can also apply a heated greenhouse, or garden bed covers depending on your climate. Pepino melon plants can briefly stand temperatures down to xx F without dying, but this can really dull down the plant's growth. Information technology's best to protect your Pepino melon from common cold weather as much equally possible.

Are you lot ready to offset your starting time garden, or troubleshoot common garden issues yous are having? Cheque out our Complete Guide to Home Gardening + five Beginner Mistakes to Avoid.

What about you, have you ever eaten Pepino melon before, or grown a Pepino melon establish? Let us know your feel in the comments below.

Source: https://homesteadsweethome.com/pepino-melon/

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