PLANTS THAT PRODUCE

Plants That Produce

Got Cucurbitoids?

By Richard Frost

What a fun word! Cucurbitoid refers to gourds and other members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae which contains gourds, melons, pumpkins, watermelons, and cucumbers. In addition to these familiar annuals there are also some perennial vines, shrubs, and the exotic Cucumber Tree Dendrosicyos socotranus. Among all these edible plants and flavors there has to be at least one you’d like to grow at home.

I’m sure it must have crossed Tom Lehrer’s mind to write some crazy melodious song about all these related vegetables. “There’s … honeydew and crenshaw and sultan and casaba; sugar pie, acorn, butternut, and ambrosia; …”. Every time I start working with the melons in my garden I can just hear him singing it!

The cucurbitoids all utilize high levels of potassium to produce outstanding crops. If you want to achieve this “organically”, then either apply wood ash to the garden bed the previous fall or apply Sul-Po-Mag during the growing season while keeping a watchful eye on the soil pH. A more prudent approach is to use a water-soluble mineral formula like 20-5-30 or 15-20-25 if you are getting a late start. For hydroponics the standard cucurbitoid formula is Urea-Free 8-16-36.

The cucurbitoids will all play host to powdery mildew. This is easily controlled by mixing one tablespoon of sodium-free baking powder (potassium bicarbonate) in a gallon of water and misting the leaves about every other week. Mist, but do not wash the plants with it. The solution will kill the mildew instantly but it may take several days to fall off the plant.

Many cucurbitoids can develop long vines. The longer the vine, the more difficult it is for nutrients to travel from the roots to the fruit. Try to keep the vines to five feet in length. My approach is to confine each plant (or pair of plants) to a 4 foot by 3 foot area and edge it with a trimmer.

The flowers of all these plants are edible and popular to put in salads or to garnish side dishes. Keep in mind the fruits develop from the flowers, so that the more flowers you pick the less fruit you will have.

In the muskmelon group my favorite variety to grow and recommend is Ambrosia. It can be an outstanding performer even next to the coast. The Crenshaw and Sakata’s Sweet varieties are also delicious. In the watermelon group, the Crimson Sweet is the best I’ve ever tasted but it requires more days of heat than we typically get on the coast. If you are making dill pickles I recommend an English cucumber variety such as Longfellow, otherwise there are a plethora of cucumbers to choose from.

Strictly speaking, the term “squash” refers to cooked cucurbitoids and not to a group of plants. For example, if you put grated uncooked pumpkin in your salad it is a “melon” but steamed cucumber is a squash. As you may recall, the “squashes” we commonly eat (including “Italian squash”) were unknown in the Eastern Hemisphere until Native Americans introduced them to Europeans at that famous 1^st Thanksgiving dinner. An interesting squash to try this year is Naples Long – basically a butternut shaped and flavored pumpkin. For container gardens the round “Eight Ball” Zucchini is a real treat.

SDHS member Richard Frost is a certified edible gardening nut. For copies of past articles and more information, please see www.PlantsThatProduce.com.

Reprinted with permission from July 2010 "Let's Talk Plants," the newsletter of the San Diego Horticultural Society, www.sdhortsoc.org