Ecballium Elaterium
Squirting Cucumber
Cucumber is the common name for a widely cultivated creeping vine bearing cucumiform fruits and is of the same family as melon. The 'Squirting Cucumber' is grown for the novelty value, as the fruits are inedible (in fact they contain a powerful purgative!). The attraction is the that the small cucumber-like fruits, when ripe, squirt out their seeds at the slightest touch to quite a distance - irresistible for small boys! (But take care to protect your - or their - eyes!)
Contributed by @mukii
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Full sun to partial shade
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Occasional watering
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Not Frost hardy
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Rich and free draining
Common name
Squirting Cucumber
Latin name
Ecballium Elaterium
type
Vegetable
family
Cucurbitaceae
ph
5.0 - 7.0 Acid - Neutral
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Light
Full sun to partial shade
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Frost
Not Frost hardy
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Soil
Rich and free draining
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Water
Occasional watering
Plant & bloom calendar
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Best time to plant
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When to harvest
full grown dimensions
0.60 M
1.20 M
Ecballium Elaterium
Cucumber is the common name for a widely cultivated creeping vine bearing cucumiform fruits and is of the same family as melon. The 'Squirting Cucumber' is grown for the novelty value, as the fruits are inedible (in fact they contain a powerful purgative!). The attraction is the that the small cucumber-like fruits, when ripe, squirt out their seeds at the slightest touch to quite a distance - irresistible for small boys! (But take care to protect your - or their - eyes!)
Planting
From Mid Spring TO Early Summer
Plant out seedlings that have germinated in heat into their permanent position in the greenhouse in mid spring in rich well draining soil. For outdoor varieties, harden off when the weather and soil are warm enough, and then plant out into humus-rich soil, in a sunny site, spacing them 3' apart.
Propagation by seed
From Early Spring TO Late Spring
Sow cucumber seed in heat under glass in early to mid spring for planting out when risk of frost has passed. Sow the seeds on edge in compost, and water, then keep compost moist until seedlings emerge. Try to maintain a temperature of at least 15 deg. Plant out after seedlings have their first true leaves, and when the soil and weather are warm enough
mukii
