THE PLAN - PART 4: THE WEIRDOS

Last but not least, part 4 of THE PLAN - THE WEIRDOS!

I saved the best for last, because some of the best vegetables are the weirdest ones!

I'll start with the melons. While these melons aren't exactly weird, I've included them in this category as melons aren't as common in home gardens (compared to tomatoes and peppers, for example). I'm a bit leery of attempting to grow melons in what is basically a community plot, as unfortunately I've heard its quite common for them to be stolen. I guess everyone loves a nice ripe cantaloupe or watermelon.  If anyone has any ideas for preventing garden theft I'm all ears, but I guess I will have to expect to lose one or two (hopefully no more) of these guys:

Left to Right: Lambkin hybrid melon, Faerie hybrid watermelon, and Whopper hybrid cantaloupe

The Lambkin melon is a Spanish dessert melon that has the look of a honeydew with a honey-sweet flavour. I can't wait to try this one. The Faerie watermelon is unusual in that it's rind doesn't look like your typical green and white watermelon, which I thought was pretty neat. Someone that had grown it once before said it was so tasty that they were tempted to eat the rind too! The final melon is the Whopper cantaloupe, which as the name implies, is BIG! We're talking 6 to 8 pounds per melon. Someone's going to have to help me eat these big guys! I see a lot of fruit salad in my future...

Next on the list of "weird" are my absolute favourite.... cucamelons!!!

Can't even handle the cute

These are the most adorable little things I have ever seen. About the size of a green grape with the appearance of a tiny watermelon, these are actually miniature cucumbers! I managed to grow some of these on my balcony last year, but they didn't receive enough sunlight (or pollinators) to really produce to the best of their ability. The taste was very interesting - definitely "cucumbery" but with a little hint of lemon. I will be growing SEVEN of these plants this year, hoping to get a ton of these babies so I can try pickling them as well as making cucamelon bruschetta and relish!

Cucamelon bruschetta from She Eats

And last but not least....

I present to you another very weird looking member of the cucumber family... the Fat Baby Achocha!

Alien cucumbers?

After watching this video on YouTube, I knew I had to have them. Just watch it. Did you see HOW MANY of them were growing on that vine? This is such an unusual vegetable that I had a lot of trouble finding seeds for it. In fact, I couldn't even find seeds within North America - I had to get my wonderful friend Natasha, who is currently living in Ireland, to buy me some from a website based in the UK. I don't have the seeds yet but I'm hoping they come in the mail without any problems! I'd like to grow these guys around the perimeter of the plot, creating somewhat of a "green fence" to try and deter people from coming into my garden uninvited. For those of you wondering, those little spines are not sharp and you can eat them just like that!


What else will be in the garden?
THE PLAN - PART 1: THE BASICS
THE PLAN - PART 2: THE PEPPERS
THE PLAN - PART 3: THE TOMATOES