You Should Try Growing Heat-Loving Xylangouro Melons

Afew savvy local gardeners know about Armenian cucumbers. These plants ( Cucumis melo var. flexuosus) are actually in the melon family, but they taste like cucumbers and look like cucumbers on the inside.

Unlike true cucumbers ( Cucumis sativa), they thrive in the heat. I’ve grown Armenian cucumbers in the past. But this year, I’m growing a related variety known as Xylangouro melon. This plant comes from the Greek island of Chios. It, too, seems to love the heat.

It looks a lot likeArmenian cucumbers with its wrinkled skin. Armenian cucumbers seem to grow longer in my experience. The Xylangouro melons grow larger in diameter. They also have a fuzzy skin, sort of like a peach. Both Armenians and Xylangouros stay tender with edible skins no matter how large they get. They’re never bitter, as true cucumbers get when they grow large. I picked one last weekend that weighed 4 lbs.

8 oz. It was sweet and tender.

If you enjoy Greek food as I do, you’re probably familiar with Tzatziki sauce. It’s made with Greek yogurt, shredded cucumber, mint and dill. It’s delicious with grilled meat. Some sources I’ve read indicate that these cucumber-like melons are traditionally used to make Tzatziki rather than true cucumbers.

Janessa and I have been making cucumber salads with them. You don’t need to peel them. Just remove the seeds. We mix cut up pieces of the melon with red onion, tomatoes, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and basil. I could eat it every day.

Believe it or not, you can cook them as well. I grill them just like squash, and they taste sort of like squash with an aftertaste of melon. Have you ever grilled watermelon rinds? (If you haven’t you should try.) It tastes sort of like that.

When they grow extremely large, they can over-ripen. The flesh turns softer and they taste a lot more like melon. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The next time I find a giant one, I’m going to slice it up and drizzle it with some honey and balsamic vinegar. I bet it will make a wonderful dessert.

I bought the seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds ( rareseeds.com). Be warned, the vines sprawl 20 feet or more in all directions. I’m growing about five plants on a trellis. I wish I only planted three seeds because they’ve already outgrown the support.

I expect these to continue producing throughout the heat of the summer. When I’ve grown Armenian cucumbers in the past, they were often the only productive crop when temperatures reached 100º F or more.