Winter Melon/Wax Gourd -- the best veggie you've never tried.

13 years ago

I grew 3 kinds of winter melons this year, and got a heaping wheelbarrow full of mature fruits off of about 6 plants. Granted, I might not always be that successful, since it was a very hot summer, and this tropical cucurbit no doubt loves that kind of weather.

I've done a little kitchen experimentation, and have come to the conclusion this is one really versatile vegetable.

Raw, it is very neutral in flavor, with a nice texture. The flesh is crisp, only slightly mucilaginous and very slightly astringent, similar to summer squash in this respect. The texture is a little firmer than summer squash or cucumber, but it's not tough. I've found it to be excellent in mixed salads, and also nice sliced to serve with a dip or spread.

Cooked, it seems to be useful any way one would use summer squash or eggplant. It fries up beautifully, and doesn't shrink nearly as much as summer squash. I was quite surprised that it doesn't seem to lose much moisture when being fried. It also can be used in soups, casseroles, and so forth. Flavor and texture when fried are more similar to eggplant than to summer squash, IMO, although that isn't saying a whole lot, since eggplant and summer squash are very similar overall in flavor and texture.

I'm very anxious to see how long the fruits will store -- it is said, because of the waxy coating, they will last up to a year in cool, dry storage.

I'm quite surprised that this vegetable is NOT more popular. Perhaps the word just needs to be spread -- so, I'm posting this. I'd really encourage anyone in Zone 5 or warmer to give it a try. Don't know how well it would do in zones colder than 5.

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Comments (24)

glib
13 years ago
Post again in December, with a storage report. A wheelbarrow for 6 sounds nice. No SVB? This year it was terrible around here (25 miles south of you), with up to seven SVB per plant. Also, does it climb? I am setting up cattle panel trellises for next year, precisely for the cucurbitae.
denninmi
Original Author
13 years ago
Glib, I almost never get squash vine borers here. Once in a while they will attack C. maxima varieties. But overall I almost never have problems with them. So, definitely not a problem on these this year.

Will the Winter Melons climb? -- boy will they climb! I had them going up an "A-frame" shaped trellis/structure I made out of bamboo poles that was about 8 feet tall, and they went over the top, down the back side, and grew out 10 to 15 feet out through the corn growing next to the trellis.

I'm sure if the trellis had been 20 feet tall they would have just about hit the top.
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gardendawgie
13 years ago
denninmi

Please list the 3 varieties you grew. please say how well each did and also where you bought them. I will guess below.

Thanks

& thanks for doing this in the past for the pickling melons. I will guess you got these at Kitazawa Seeds. I post the location for easy access. There are 4 varieties there.

I am struggling with these oriental melons.

I have seen some people growing oriental melons but they hardly speak english. impossible to carry on a conversation and they call everything by their oriental names and not understandable by me. anyway. The more interesting ones tend to have big flowers white and yellow. Some start out fuzzy but lose the fuzz fast and so not sure if they are fuzzy gourds or what. it really gets so impossible to know. I dont know if they buy seeds or just let everything mix together.

They had a nice harvest of lemon grass and cilantro and tiny hot peppers and some strange corn and pole beans. They are really good gardeners. I wish I could learn more from them. I want to get some seeds for next year. Not sure what to try. their bitter melon did not do so well this year.

It would be nice to see pictures of the melons whole and cut open and whatever to get a better idea. Anyway. I hope you can give me some good advice. I did buy the book on growing Chinese veggies but that was written some time ago and is confusing also because it uses mostly line drawings that are terrible. although it does have a few photos but not of the critical stuff for identification.

The big white waxy gourds are easy to identify. Saw them in the oriental food store. very different. But some of these in catalogs do not get the white skin or maybe did not have enough time here in zone 5 also to fully wax up.

also people and catalogs seem to mix up the names slightly making it hard for me to keep them straight in my mind.

Anyway. I am very grateful to have you here teaching me.

If you want to comment on the difference between your pickling melons and these winter melons that might help.

Thanks

Garden Dawgie

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitazawa Seeds Winter Melons
ncvgarden
13 years ago
Winter Melon has never been bothered by SVB in my garden, while all summer and winter squash I tried this year and last year died of SVB attack.
Not every one likes the flavor (or the lack of flavor) or the texture though.
DrHorticulture_
13 years ago
Den, have you tried Ivy Gourd? It has an even more pleasant flavor and texture, especially when picked ripe and cooked immediately in a garlic tomato sauce. Yum.
tracydr
13 years ago
Do stink bugs like them? I lost all my squash and melons to stink bugs this year.
happyday
13 years ago
For those organic gardeners who won't use pesticides, what about planting marigolds in your squash patch? I read that bugs avoid marigolds. They don't like the smell.

I've also read you could spray your plants with something like vanilla extract and that scent would deter bugs.
scarletdaisies
13 years ago
Does anyone know if cedar chips would work? Squash vine borers are also moths and should react the same to cedar! Would love to know. I've got a few different types of squash for next year, the one you describe sounds nice because it's similar to crooked neck. White patty pan/scalloped squash doesn't have the same flavor, just washed out. If I can't have yellow crooked neck, and I can't due to bugs, I'm not sure if I care to grow them.

I'll try a pack of these for next year maybe.
guavalane
13 years ago
Every day I passed by this house with an amazing front yard facing a busy street. Here are some pics of the winter melons. They are grown on very low (18"?) horizontal trellis, and the ground is covered with scrap carpet. Cheng, the proud gardener, told me that the longer a melon is left on the vine before picking the longer it will keep in storage. The pink tub is to show how big the melons are.
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happyday
13 years ago
Guavalane, where are you located? Someone else recently said that their gardening neighbors were Asian, was that you?
gardendawgie
13 years ago
guavalane

yes awesome pictures. Wow.

let me rough quote from the book
GROWING CHINESE VEG IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD by Geri Harrington

requires warm growing 150 days. requires rich fertile soil with deep compost & fertilizer helps. keep ground moist at all times. elevate fruit off he wet ground to avoid melon rot on wet soil.

I believe there are some smaller hybrids that mature faster. But the big old round ones probably take the full time. That is why I guess that this picture was from a warm area of growing. so I too am interested in where these pictures come from. That one melon looks bigger than the pink tub which is probably 15 to 20 gallons or more. That is one big melon.

These are melons and not squash so the SVB probably ignores them. Look out for MVB melon vine borers. haha.

I wanna grow a big one like that. maybe that grower is saving seeds. what a beauty.
gardendawgie
13 years ago
Ivy Gourd, Tindora

spreads as a terrible weed. Up in zone 5 it should winter kill but is dangerous in some real warm areas. every tiny bit of plant will grow into a new plant. It over winters and is a terrible weed in some areas. Everyone who grows this should be away of the problem before deciding to try to grow it. making sure they stop it from spreading as a terrible weed.

here is what wikipidia says

There are both physical and chemical recommendations for control of Ivy Gourd. It is very difficult to control this plant physically except for bagging fruits. Hand-harvesting normally does not kill the plant but rather breaks the vine blankets into smaller pieces and the plant is able to reestablish when it touches the ground. These methods can make the infestation worse and further the need for more rigorous control methods. Picking the fruit and placing them in plastic bags can help decrease the seed back that is present with the soil. It is reported by PIER, that when utilizing chemical controls, that Ivy Gourd responded well to a thin-lined bark application of 100% Garlon 4 (triclopyr), leaving plants in place so as not to translocate the herbicide or spread the pest. It is applied multiple times until the vine dies. In Hawaii several species of insect have been introduced with the purpose of being a biocontrol. Two weevils, Acythopeus burkhartorum and A. cocciniae, were introduced by the DOA to Oahu and Hawai'i. African vine moths (Melittia oedipus) were also released onto Oahu and Maui. On the island of Maui it appears that the A. cocciniae is established and are damaging leaves. The larva feed on the plant and the adults chew holes in the leaves. The moth has yet to appear successful in its purpose.
pnbrown
13 years ago
I think a member here from MD posted pictures of his tindora a while back.
guavalane
13 years ago
Happyday, I'm in San Gabriel Valley, about 15 miles east of Los Angeles downtown. Cheng, the proud gardener who grew those winter melons, is from southern China. He was very happy when I took those pictures and here are more, but not winter melons. Sorry Dennis, for going off topic.
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guavalane
13 years ago
Oh, I forgot to mention that while the winter melon trellis is 18" high the Jie Gua is grown on trellis 40" high. My google search shows Jie Gua is Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn. var. chieh-qua How.Ã¯Â¼Âor Hairy CucumberÃ£ÂÂHairy GourdÃ£ÂÂHairy melonÃ£ÂÂFuzzy melon or Chieh-qua.
happyday
13 years ago
Guess you have all the heat you need, then! Those trellis look like a good idea, I might try that with watermelon.
gardendawgie
13 years ago
guavalane

Thank You. I want all the info I can get.

Does your friend buy seeds and if so what varieties and where does he buy the seeds. etc.

why higher ? How big are these.

You are in a great warm long grow region. I am zone 5 and must plan carefully. So I am interested in what comes quickly and what takes a long time. I can probably do with plants to about 105 days as some pumpkins are 105. not sure on the maximum but it probably depends on the temperature. Right now it is cold here. high of the day below or near 50. just to give an idea.

But of course all information is eagerly sought.

how is the eating quality difference between winter melon and fuzzy gourd.

I had a oriental melon gourd that I liked. It was pretty good. it grew sort of like a square long melon. the melon had 4 creases running the length that caused it to have a sort of square cross section. the crease was indented along the length. the melon was nice in soup. It might have been a winter melon but no white on the melon skin and it was ready very early. The skin was tough so it was easy to cook. I could put it into a microwave and after it was cooked the skin would come off in one piece instead of falling apart. I just grab the skin and pull it off. well more or less. worked great. the "melon" was nice and firm. light color. sort of clear when cooked. moisture came out of it. the moisture with the seeds was a little more sweet. but this was for cooking not for raw eating. Does anyone have any idea what it might have been. what kind of oriental melon or gourd. I saved some seed but then the seeds might be crossed with all the other stuff grown there.

Mostly I want to know what it is so I can buy some good seed that is properly correct and not some half wild cross.
farmerdilla
13 years ago
For those interested Evergreen http://www.evergreenseeds.com/vegetableseeds.html has a good selection of bitter gourds, wax gourds, hairy gourds, and bottle gourds. As noted they are not squash, so SVB does not come into play. Kitazawa http://www.kitazawaseed.com/seeds_gourd.html also has a good selection.
glib
13 years ago
One thing that stumps me is those pictures from guavalane show white pumpkins. Isn't winter melon green, fairly small, with a somewhat hemorrhoidal skin?
happyday
13 years ago
White pumpkins or Queensland Blue pumpkin?
guavalane
13 years ago
Glib and Happyday, Cheng told me they are "winter melons", in Chinese. And I know they are because I grew up eating them. Like Farmerdilla pointed out, Evergreen website shows different varieties they carry - green or white, round or oblong, always fuzzy/hairy, and some only takes 105 days or less. Usually they are big, so in market they are sold cut-up. People in southern China like to use them with fresh or preserved meet/scallop to make SLOW cooking soups, and believe they are GOOD for the body. (Mom thought eating it raw is unthinkable). In fancy restaurants the end piece is often carved and used as soup bowl at banquet tables.

Gardendawgie, I don't know what variety Cheng grows I'll ask him next time I see him.
gardendawgie
13 years ago
Winter melon are green but when ripe they have a white wax form over the skin to preserve them through the winter. The more wax the longer they will keep.

Basically there are two shapes. The big round "pumpkin" shape and the big oblong "cucumber" shape that might go 20 pounds. So they are really big oblomg "cucumber" shape.

click below for some pictures.

Here is a link that might be useful: picture of different Winter Melons
happyday
12 years ago
Guavalane, do you have any more photos of Cheng's horizontal trellis? Specifically how it is built? What did he build it from, how did he make the connections, how long and how wide, how many crossbars?

I want to build one of those myself this year. It would be great if you could post pix of an entire trellis before the plants are grown on them, but they are probably covered now.

Has anyone ever seen plans for horizontal trellis like this?
denninmi
Original Author
12 years ago
Since someone resurrected my old thread, I thought I'd just mention that yes, they store great. I still have 6 of them. Out of all I had, only 3 or 4 of the scruffiest, small ones that were sort of misshapen from the drought in late summer rotted. I'm leaving the last six as an experiment. If they can hang on to Labor Day like I've had butternut squash do, I'll be really impressed.

Winter Melon/Wax Gourd -- the best veggie you've never tried.

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Winter Melon/Wax Gourd -- the best veggie you've never tried.

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