Achocha

**Guest** · 27-08-2018, 08:07 AM

Easy, plentiful and use in place of green peppers. There are 4 varieties I know of exploding cue, fat baby, lady slipper and giant bolivian. I was led to believe the last two should be gh grown but have been told that people have managed them fine outdoors but haven't tried them.

Edit: yes I would recommend them

**Jay-ell** · 27-08-2018, 08:52 AM

NG How vigorous are they> I've some seeds and I'm thinking about growing them next year - possibly outdoors on one of the arms of one of the gallows along with cucumbers and Armenian cucumbers (and possibly dudi - mostly because of the name).

How many plants do you grow and how far apart do you grow them?

These are the gallows - I was thinking using one of them, one arm for each so the Achocha would have one 2 foot arm that's 7 foot high.

Garden organic has a fact sheet but it doesn't give much info on it.
https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/sit...eetAchocha.pdf

**veggiechicken** · 27-08-2018, 08:57 AM

I'm growing some this year (try to grow them most years). Have never managed to grow a single achocha fruit.

These are scrambling up wire netting - they grow like peas, not beans.

**Nicos** · 27-08-2018, 09:02 AM

I grew fat baby last year.
They taste a bit like a cross between a pepper and a cucumber....perhaps with a slight hint of nasturtium?

Didn't get a chance to grow them this year but have saved some seeds for next year.

I prefer them cooked to raw.

**robbra** · 27-08-2018, 12:37 PM

Thanks, I think it will be worth trying next year as I've got some unused trellis they can climb..
Jay, love the gallows, wish I had the space.
VC, what do you think the problem is?
Nicos, how do you cook them? I've heard in stir fries, bolognese and chilli they work well or perhaps vegetable oven bake.
Rob

**veggiechicken** · 27-08-2018, 12:43 PM

Originally posted by robbra View Post

VC, what do you think the problem is?
Rob

Don't know and I don't even think about it too much. It either thrives or it doesn't.
Just had a look at them actually - I'm growing Bolivian Giant and Fat Baby. I think I grow them for their names more than a desire to eat them.
There are flowers on the giant but its probably too late this year for a crop.

**Scarlet** · 27-08-2018, 01:13 PM

I think achocha is an acquired taste, I used to grow Fat Baby every year - but not this one. As Nicos has said, they taste like a cucumber/pepper cross. The kids liked them raw.
I don’t think it’s a great replacement for growing peppers, ( it’s another veg) although they are ok in chilli for the added green, stir fry dishes etc they are very mild and I think the flavour gets lost when cooked.
They are strange plants some can be vigorous and then others don’t budge. I often grow about 4 and get overloaded.
It’s a bit of a strange one, great for growing for fun but you don’t want to eat it too many times a week.

**Nicos** · 27-08-2018, 02:04 PM

I did eat some raw but filled with cream cheese etc.( when mature they are hollow)
I sort of look at them as a source of different vitamins and minerals so added them to onions /peppers /aubergines and casseroles.

You need to take out the black seeds before eating/cooking.

If you pick them small and the seeds aren't ripe, and they aren't hollow so you can eat the lot.
If I never had them again I wouldn't be upset, but it's something else to grow and might be prolific during a year when other things fail.
Good conversation piece too

**Scarlet** · 27-08-2018, 02:27 PM

Originally posted by Nicos View Post

If I never had them again I wouldn't be upset, but it's something else to grow and might be prolific during a year when other things fail.
Good conversation piece too

That sums them up for me!

**Jay-ell** · 27-08-2018, 03:10 PM

Are these the ones that explode when they are ripe?

**Scarlet** · 27-08-2018, 04:16 PM

No, Fat baby don't explode. They are best eaten very small, under 2inches, they grow huge in a blink of an eye, they are vigorous but the stems/tendrils are thin, they don't make a huge root ball and seem happy enough planted close together. If they get too vigorous you can always get the clippers on them.

**Jay-ell** · 27-08-2018, 05:05 PM

Originally posted by Scarlet View Post

Fat baby don't explode.

Four words you wouldn't expect to be strung together in a sentence but when they are - it's so disappointing.

I WANT EXPLODING FAT BABIES!

**Scarlet** · 27-08-2018, 05:15 PM

Haha! Nutter

Realseeds sell Fat Baby, Giant Bolivian and also "the exploding one"

Achocha and Luffa Vegetable Seeds to buy in the UK from The Real Seed Catalogue

**Jay-ell** · 27-08-2018, 05:31 PM

Spikey - "So how did you get that scar?" "My cucumber exploded"

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