Family:  Cucumber (Cucurbitaceae)

Annual, 75 to 100 days to fruits

(Small Achocha, Horned Achochilla, Caigua, Caihua)

Wild, cucumber-like food from Bolivia, vining to 15 feet, leaves triangular, flowers male and female, yellow.  Yields upright, oblong, softly-spined (horned) fruits that are hollow, occurring in great number, all along the stem, pushing up from the nodes.  The fruits are small, measuring a couple of inches from base to tip.  These are edible fresh (scoop out seeds and eat like a cucumber) or cooked (the hollow shape lends the achocha to use in the casserole dish, stuffed with cheese and herbs, covered with sauce.)    The plant prefers a cool, moist and fertile root system and responds admirably well to applications of coir, compost, and also frequent watering.  Trellis.  Many state that the plant does best in cool and shady circumstances, but I grow them very successfully in a full-sun exposure, and I believe they give more fruit when grown in this manner.  Sow the seed indoors around the last frost date and work the plants up in pots.  Transplant outdoors once the weather has truly settled.  Space plants 3 feet apart.

5 seeds per packet, certified organically grown