An exotic and surprising fruit, combining a spectacular appearance with remarkable productivity.
About the variety. The kiwano cucumber produces oval fruits covered in thick spines, with a striped green appearance, ripening to a vivid orange, with green flesh whose flavour blends lemon and cucumber. The plant is very vigorous and produces large quantities of medium-sized fruits.
Itinerário técnico
Como cultivar kiwano cucumber?
Um guia de cultivo passo a passo, da sementeira à colheita.
pH ideal 6.0 to 7.0Temperatura ideal 20 to 30 °CCompasso 40 to 50 cm in the row, 100 to 120 cm between rows
Sementeira
Sow in individual pots three to four weeks before planting out, two to three centimetres deep, at 22 °C to 25 °C. Germination is slow and uneven, one to three weeks; soaking the seed in warm water for twelve hours helps. Transplant with the root ball intact after the last frost, once the soil is above 15 °C. It carries separate male and female flowers on the same plant and depends on insects for fruit set; if the small fruits shrivel, hand pollinate in the morning with a brush. It is a long cycle plant, 120 to 140 days to the first ripe fruit, so do not delay sowing. It makes long spiny vines: train it on netting or let it run on the ground over straw.
Solo
It wants deep, loose soil, very rich in organic matter and free draining, with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. The classic approach is to open a wide hole, fill it with mature compost and plant on that spot, which gives the plant the reserve it needs. Rotate on a four year cycle with crops from other families.
Clima
It needs strong prolonged heat, between 22 °C and 32 °C, full sun and four to five months without cold to ripen the fruit. It is very frost sensitive and stops growing below 12 °C. It tolerates the dry heat of inland Portugal and Spain well, where it gives the best results outdoors. On the cool Atlantic coast, in northern France and in Germany it only gets there in a greenhouse or tunnel, with an early sowing under heat. Plant in the sunniest, most sheltered spot you have. Do not mistake it for a cucumber or expect a quick crop: it is a whole season crop. If you still have green fruit in September, stop watering: fruit already formed finishes colouring in the late summer heat, but fruit set after that will not ripen.
Fertilização
Work two to three kilos of well rotted compost into each square metre before planting and add a handful of wood ash to top up potassium. Once growth is away, feed with a liquid organic fertiliser every two or three weeks, moving from a balanced formula to a higher potassium one as cropping begins. Avoid excess nitrogen, which gives lush leaves, a poor crop and a lot of aphids.
Rega
It comes from the Kalahari desert and stands drought far better than cucumber. Water moderately and regularly, once or twice a week deeply, always at the base. Too much water in heavy soil rots the roots. A straw mulch holds moisture and keeps the fruit clean.
Controlo de Infestantes
The critical period is the first month, before the foliage covers the ground. Hand weed in that phase and, once the vines start to run, stop disturbing the soil: from then on the plant smothers weeds itself. A straw mulch under the foliage keeps the fruit clean and dry and greatly reduces losses to rot where fruit touches the soil.
Controlo de Pragas
The main pests are aphids, red spider mite, thrips and whitefly, and on young plants slugs and snails, which can cut down a newly emerged seedling in one night. Protect the seedlings with a cut bottle or an ash barrier for the first weeks. Against aphids and whitefly use potassium soap in the late afternoon; against red spider mite, which appears in dry heat, wet the leaves in the morning and use neem oil.
Doenças
Powdery mildew is practically unavoidable and shows as white dust on the upper leaf surface, above all from midsummer on. It is checked with potassium bicarbonate or sulphur applied at the first signs, together with removal of old leaves and good airflow. Cucurbit downy mildew gives angular yellow patches bounded by the veins and thrives in coastal humidity. Anthracnose and collar rot appear in waterlogged soil. Use a four year rotation and clear all crop debris at the end of the season, because that is where the fungi overwinter.
Colheita
The kiwano is not a cucumber and is not picked green: let the fruit ripen on the plant until the skin is fully orange and the spines have hardened. Picked green it is no good and does not ripen properly afterwards. Wear gloves, because the spines prick, and cut with scissors leaving a piece of stalk. Whole and undamaged it keeps for months at room temperature, which is one of its best qualities. You eat the green jelly like flesh, seeds and all, with a spoon. The reference colour is orange skin and green flesh, and that is what tells you it is ready.
