Kiwano - African Horned Cucumber

Put seeds in the ground once in 2009 and had volunteers until 2016. Highly recommend trellis. Great for fruit smoothies and self-defense.

This vine grew very well in our garden! It ripened in July/August, when many other plants decide to go on a hiatus in the Texas heat. We ate them when they were immature/green and also when they were mature/orange. My family definitely preferred the immature/green fruit. They tasted just like a cucumber, what a great way to extend your "cucumber" season in places where it gets too hot for normal cucumbers!

Fruits FINALLY ripened. They were so plentiful, I enjoyed eating them young, which I recommend trying. Yes indeed, ripened fruit tastes like banana, with a slight touch of lime. Expected taste to be sour, since sweetening was recommended, but find them to be slightly sweet. A quick trip through a food processor and then a strainer separates the seeds from the "jelly". Plant has died due to frost. I was hoping to save a cutting to overwinter, but didn't get to it in time. I'm starting seeds NOW to get an earlier start on the next growing season.

Bought tongue depressor sticks at the dollar store, thinking they'd make great plant labeling stakes. Seeded trays, wrote on the sticks with sharpie. Watering blurred the names beyond recognition. I ended up planting various plants throughout my garden - no idea what they were. Planted this one at the end of a green bean trellis. This mystery plant showed up at the end of season. One day I noticed small strange looking "berries" on it. I decided to try one and found it VERY TASTY. Nutty texture yet refreshingly - like a cucumber. BE SURE TO TRY THEM YOUNG!! Not sour. The spines on the small fruit feel prickly to the touch but strangely have no prickliness on the tongue. I searched the web (including this site) trying to figure out what they were. Found nothing recognizable. Today I found much larger fruit - still green - still tasty. Just figured out what they are. Sept 30th - Hopefully some will ripen before frost. Will try to root a cutting and houseplant vine over winter.

Very surprising. Just two vines, over EIGHT HUNDRED fruit! But those vines grew over everything. If I grow these again, I will find a long, tall fence for it. They love heat; several hundred-plus degrees days, didn't even wilt. Very drought tolerant, but I will state that my growing area is very heavily mulched.The vines have prickly hairs, so wear gloves and long sleeves; very itchy. If you have young boys, consider wisely. The fruit have very pointy spikes. I can easily see these being weapons during war games. I have a brother; trust me on this. Chickens LOVED them, overripe and all. Women more than men LOVED the flavor. Go figure. Can be harvest green or left on the vine to ripen. They store about 60 to 90 days if kept cool and out of the sun; points dry off after about 30 days. Very juicy; Great for juicing and smoothies. Generated a lot of interest at the farmers' market. For reference, they are shipped in to the grocery store and sell for $4.99 EACH!!!!