Crystal Lemon

Description

Cucumis sativus

At first glance, this odd, roundish cucumber shows little promise. The tough skin coloured from ivory to yellow is punctuated with black spines that look like a five o’clock shadow. The plants are susceptible to mildew; grow into 2-metre vines with lots of side shoots; and start producing fruit later than other varieties.

However, a closer scrutiny reveals that Crystal Lemon has great potential, and several good qualities. It is capable of producing very respectable yields – we harvested about 50 fruit per plant in our outdoor cucumber trial. The taste and texture, too, are good – provided the fruit is harvested when it has a diameter of up to 4-5cm; if allowed to grow larger the seeds get hard and the centre core oversized.

Given its eccentricities Crystal Lemon is one of those “love it” or “hate it” varieties, we certainly know people in both camps. Still, if you like growing unusual vegetables then this is definitely one to try.

Approximate number of seed per pack: 15