I was watching the Grow Your Own movie DVD and I am interested in the shark fin melon that was mentioned in the film and they were able to make soup from it. Does anyone know of where I can obtain shark fin melon seeds in the UK?
Thanks,
alan

I believe it's also called Chilacayote.

I've never used this site but there's someone here offering some as a swap:

Seedy People, the seed swap web site for vegetable, herb and flower growers in the UK

thanks for the reply. I've e-mailled the person who's swapping the seeds and I'm waiting for a reply. I did try looking in different seed catalogues for the shark fin melon, but they did not appear to stock the seeds.

Have you any other ideas for unusual veg or fruit that would grow well on an allotment plot?

donald

I'm not an expert at all (only in my second year growing) but Real Seeds have some good stuff that's more unusual, plus they trial everything themselves, so it's not so much 'pot luck':

Great Vegetable Seeds from The Real Seed Catalogue

I'm having a go at oca and ulluco this year, plus exploding cucumbers!

I'd also recommend this book:

Amazon.co.uk: Growing Unusual Vegetables: Weird and Wonderful Vegetables and How to Grow Them: Books: Simon Hickmott

and this website:

Plants For A Future - 7000 useful plants

If you let us know where in the country you are, someone local to you might have more idea of what should grow successfully in your area.

Thanks for the useful info. I'll take a look at those web sites soon.

I live in the west midlands and some of my plot soil condition is not too good. I'm trying to improve the condition of the soil, but I have a lot of clay (just over a spade deep), so it can get rather water-logged with exceptional wet weather.

any suggestions for the type of veg that could grow in these conditions would be most appreciated!

Alan

I think that spuds do well enough in those conditions - and brassicas - suggest that you add as muck as you can (let the worms incorporate it for you!) and it'll gradually inprove in time.

If you go into your user cp (top left on the green bar) and put your approx location in the location bit it will help peeps on here to give you more tailored advice for your area.

Originally Posted by donald

thanks for the reply. I've e-mailled the person who's swapping the seeds and I'm waiting for a reply. I did try looking in different seed catalogues for the shark fin melon, but they did not appear to stock the seeds.

Have you any other ideas for unusual veg or fruit that would grow well on an allotment plot?

donald

Hi Donald

Did you manage to get some shark fin melon seeds?
If you didnt then I can let you have some if you pm me your address.

Cheers Chris

I'm not sure, but I think I might have a shark fin melon in my garden. I was given a pumpkin plant that was supposed to be one of the normal orange variety used at halloween but instead I have a green monster! It grows at an alarming rate and at the moment I have two massive fruits on it plus at least a dozen smaller ones. It has taken over my pumpkin patch and spreads at least 15ft in each direction! It is climbing up a hedge and over garden benches - there's no stopping it! Here's a pic - can someone confirm if it is, in fact, a shark fin, please?

I looked at that picture for about 5 minutes before I realised that there is a leaf over the melon and it's not a melon that's been torn open.

I thought you were making a joke because the torn edge looks like a shark's fin.

Originally Posted by Fat Bob

I looked at that picture for about 5 minutes before I realised that there is a leaf over the melon and it's not a melon that's been torn open.

I thought you were making a joke because the torn edge looks like a shark's fin.

Sorry for confusing you No, it's a genuine query - I really would like to know if it is a shark fin melon (also, I believe, called an Asian pumpkin). I've seen pics of what the inside of these pumpkins look like so I'll find out for sure when I finally harvest it. At the moment though, I want to see how big it will get!

Hmm... not sure... it looks similar, but shark fin melon has some whiter bits and the leaves are not pointy - more like a rounded fig leaf. It could be a shark fin melon that's been crossed? The leaves look fig shaped but are more serrated and pointy than the ones I have on mine... Or it could be a different variety of shark fin melon?

Whatever it is, it's very impressive!

I haven't found anywhere in the UK that does shark fin melon seeds - the plant I have is from a seedling from my FIL, and I think he got saved seed from friends.

The only place online that I know of is Magic Garden Seeds

Thanks for your reply. It seems that for the time being it will remain a mystery. When I finally harvest it and cut it open I will post a pic of its insides. I know the shark fin has black seeds and white flesh.

You'll just have to try and procure a real sharks fin and see if they taste similar!

My pumpkin which I'm growing for the second year (Jack of all Trades) is that same green colour, when it ripens it goes bright orange. It does look a bit less round in shape than mine, but I think there's a good chance that they'll ripen into a normal halloween pumpkin.

This is ours last year, before it ripened;

Moby I have some summer squash that look just like your picture but can't remember the name. The plants are huge and ramble all over the place. Have not let my fruits get to large size so don't know how big mine would get.

Ian