Mexican sour gherkin

Mexican sour gherkin.
Is a new cultivar, recommended for growing on personal plots. Melothria is a non-spread vegetable culture of Cucurbitaceae family from Africa.
This is a tiny kind of cucumber - small fruits (1,5-2,5 cm) of light-green colour are cucumber-like by taste, the dense skin has a nice acidulous taste. 
Melothria is an annual grassy plant, which forms shoots up to 3 m long. 
The plant has triangle-pointed hairy leaves. Plants have bright-yellow flowers of both sexes: female flowers are situated on the stem one by one, male flowers - several in each node.
Melothria is good for gardens, plants have decorative branches and a high growing ability. Melothria is a climber.

Melothria plants have the property of growing quickly, so it is usually used in landscaping.
Tenacious tendrils easily attach to all kinds of supports and completely entwine them. In addition, plants tend to exhibit strong lateral branching and rooting of side shoots.
Melothria looks very decorative - the bright greenery does not lose its colour until autumn, and its strong growth gives it the opportunity to successfully compete with weeds.
It is best to grow melothria through seedlings - it easily takes root in a new place. A week after transplantation, strong growth begins.
Melothria prefers soil that is fertile and light in mechanical composition. Plants are responsive to watering, but overwatering is undesirable. If the soil becomes compacted, it is necessary to loosen the plantings several times during the summer, being careful not to damage the roots.
If you intend to grow melothria for landscaping, then at the beginning of summer the plants need to be fed with nitrogen so that the greenery is more lush, and, if for the sake of fruits, then with phosphorus and potassium (10 g/m2 each) in the flowering phase.
Melothria plants are very productive, producing a fruit at each node. It should be noted that the fruits are tastier while they are still small and seeds have not formed in large quantities. The fruits are collected as they grow. They can be eaten fresh, salted and pickled.
When canned, melothria fruits acquire a special taste, especially if you add a little hot pepper to the marinade.
And how original the little fruits in jars look! They can be used to decorate dishes and add to pickles (cucumbers or tomatoes), or make assorted dishes.
One of the advantages of melothria over other pumpkin crops is its resistance to pests and diseases.
So, melothria has every right to take its place in our gardens.

Mexican Sour Gherkin Cucumber.