Achocha anyone?

[ukpreppergrrl]

Sunday morning web surfing usually results in only one thing: the spending of money, so generally I resist. However I seem to have become a full time carer for my cat and so my boredom threshold has sunk to a new low. Mooching around various forums I came across "achocha" (a-cho-cha I believe is the pronunciation). A relative of the cucumber from the High Andes. It seems to be the latest trendy veggie to grow It's allegedly, easy, tasty and prolific - a rare combination. You know it's trendy because The Guardian did an article on it last year: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... tle-cousin. So I've ordered some seeds: the Fat Baby variety which grows outdoors in the UK. I am a little late to the game with sowing this year, though the weather is so cold outside my windowsills are chokka with seedlings all giving me the "please, don't put us outside yet!" trembling look, so it's probably not such a bad thing. Not quite sure where I'll plant it as it can scramble up to 10 feet tall but I'm sure I'll find somewhere! Has anyone else tried achocha?

[jansman]

You are not late to the party with your sowing . I have sat on my hands this year. I have tomatoes, chillies and leeks on the go, and everything else will follow in good time. It’s been too cold. The Achocha sounds interesting.

[Jamesey1981]

Never heard of them, they look awesome, I'll be ordering some on payday. Wonder how they'll pickle.

[ukpreppergrrl]

Achocha update: 3 out of the 8 seeds sown germinated after just a few days, though one of them is rather runty. Currently hardening off...

[ukpreppergrrl]

Achcocha update:

So the runty 3rd seedling didn't make it, but after a slow start the other two are now suddenly taking off up the wall!



Yes that's 3 onions in the front

[ukpreppergrrl]

Achocha update:

After lots of leafy vine growth I'm finally getting some flower stalks appearing:


However the plants are going yellow from the bottom up which I think is a lack of nitrogen. Am about to shove more chicken poo in. Any other diagnosis from gardening gurus out there?

[featherstick]

Give them a drink of tomato food, more likely to be balanced across the spectrum of nutrients for vine-growing cucumber-y things. Nitrogen at this stage can promote too much soft leafy vulnerable growth.

[ukpreppergrrl]

Achcocha update:
Baby achocha!!! Taken about a week ago...

[OperationPrep]

This sounds like a great addition - how did they end up looking? And more importantly - how did they taste?