g'day Spatzbear,

mine are doing quiet well actually we have had a very mild winter up here with some frost but they have handled that with some leaf burn. i too thought i was never going to see fruit got lots of flowers through late summer. then in late autumn i think they started to fruit.

got lots of huge melons sitting up there at present i have used some smaller fruits in stews/stir-fries etc.,. but had too much other stuff to eat.

we did use a medium sized one to make a soup like you would pumpkin soup it was very nice had a friend use one the same way they make good soup.

i ahve never read up on them just imagined like most of the cucurbit family they would die off for winter hence the term perennial, and they would grow back in the spring or when the ground warms, that is what i was told they are supposed to do.

anyway mine are putting on lots of new growth so not sure what will happen if we get a real cold snap in the first couple of weeks of september/spring?

len

mail len

lens garden page

Hi Guys
Len ...if you are getting good vines but little fruit it is because there is not enough humidity at the time of flowering...I have grown them for a few years here in Tassie and found that they just do not set fruit unless it is humid...if they are growing all year then they should fruit up over the wet or you can water them...if you do have them growing all year then they probably need a bit of a break sometime and this is natures way of dealing with that
For you Spatz the way to get them to fruit when it has not been wet during warm weather (and bar the tropics and sub tropics here in Australia that is going to be a rare event) then you will need to water
The vines are extremely vigorous and will happily climb trees...but you need to water...I watered every morning and night...just lightly ...enough to keep the humidity up for a few hours...grow them in slightly shaded areas too that stops so much evaporation (hopefully)
I have eaten them at all stages and find that I like them best as jam melons...here it is wonderful to get kiwifruit and chilacayote jam...a great combination ...and it is something one can do during winter in front of the slow combustion stove while it is snowing outside...as it has been here in Tas over the last week (we actually had snow at my place but as per the usual pattern any flakes came in full sun and melted before touching down...but it is great to see them fluttering about...happens once every four or five years here...snow does settle about 6Km away though
As for their permanence...we get them to fruit ok and they will (mostly) tolerate a ligght frosting and not die but a heavy frost kills them (here) and we have to plant new seeds the next season....I would imagine that in SA at your place you would get them resurfacing again in spring ...surely would if you mulched them well...no problem
The flesh inside them...(the stringy bits) is said to be wonderful if sprinkled with sugar and dried....called Angel's Hair in South America
cheers
me

yes we did have a very dry summer, but heaps of fruiting going on even now since the end of summer near the end of winter.

len

Thanks for all these replies. I will give it another go then.

So, Peter, when do you usually sow yours? Mine have never sprung back after dying back. Even though I mulch heavily and keep the area ready for it to bounce back and take over the garden.

maybe too much mulch i was told not to mulch until the new plants reapeared.

so far they aren't dying off so i can put that to the test though.

len

I grew these once with spectacular success in Auckland NZ (humidity never less than 80%) The gourds would get hidden by the leaves and I wouldn't find them until they were the size of a small child. I put one on a fence post to keep out of the way of the slugs and it rolled off and dented the roof of next doors car. One weekend my neighbour went away and in 2 days a runner had gone straight through my fence, across the lawn and through my neighbours deck. Fortunately he couldn't speak english, so never complained. Who said gardening was a harmless occupation?
( I sopped my conscience by giving him a fresh snapper when we went fishing!)

I found one of these at the local swap-meet (here in the San Joaquin Valley in California) that weighed almost 13 pounds. I just don't know how to prepare them for eating. l.marie

i think they get used as a dessert, do a search for recipes.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

hello all, where did you get the seeds?

Thank you very much.
lvyao

g'day lvyao,

look for perennial squash seeds from seed saver networks, an online search could get you in the right direction. we moved from rural so no longer have the plant.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page