Unusual Vegetables for the Home Garden

Cucamelon (Melothria scabra) 

Cucamelon, a.k.a. Mexican sour gherkin or mouse melon, is a fast-growing vine with small fruits that look like miniature watermelons. Native to Mexico and Central America, the 1-inch-long fruit has a slightly lemony flavor. They can be eaten raw, used in stir-fries, or pickled.

Seeds can be started indoors, 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date, or directly sown. Germination occurs within 10 days. Cucamelons also produce tubers that can be overwintered. The 4 to 6-inch long white to beige fleshy tubers can be dug up in the autumn and stored the same as dahlias. The tender vines will need a trellis and will reach 10 feet in length. Small, yellow flowers are produced along the leaf axils, with female flowers blooming before their male counterparts. This is a reversal of blooms from cucumber vines; male flowers are first, then female flowers.

Ground Cherries (Physalis peruviana)

Originating in South America, ground cherries are related to tomatoes and tomatillos. They produce a cherry tomato-sized, golden yellow fruit that is sweet to the taste. A papery husk surrounds the fruit, just like tomatillos. Use ground cherries in salads or pies, or enjoy them as raw fruit. Read more about ground cherries in the article Growing Ground Cherries.

Litchi Tomato (Solanum sisymbriifolium)

Native to South America, litchi tomatoes are described as having fruit that tastes like a cross between a tomato and a cherry. Though it has tomato in its name, it is not a type of tomato. Its fruits grow in clusters similar to cherry tomatoes. The deep scarlet berries can be eaten raw or cooked and used in pies, tarts, and sauces. 

Seeds can be started indoors, 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date, just as you would tomatoes. The litchi tomato’s most unusual characteristic is that the entire plant - stems, branches, leaves, and fruit husks - is covered with 1/8-inch to 1/2-inch-long thorns. They grow 6 to 7 ft tall and need to be supported as you would an indeterminate tomato plant. The fruit begins growing inside a spiny husk that opens and peels back as the fruit ripens. When ripe, it has cherry red skin, yellow-gold flesh, and tough flat seeds that are numerous, and the seeds have a texture more like a pepper seed than a tomato seed with no gelatinous coating.

Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes)

Kohlrabi is not a new vegetable, as it has been grown in Europe since the 1500s, but it is quite unusual. The name is German, derived from "kohl" – cabbage and "rabi" – turnip, which describes the turnip-like stem. It is a distinct variety of cabbage (Brassica oleracea) and has a similar flavor to that of turnips but sweeter and milder. It can be eaten raw, grated into slaw, and sauteed. The leaves are edible, also great sauteed or in stir-fries.

Seeds can be direct sown for spring and fall crops. In early spring, select a cultivar with a low number of days until harvest, as kohlrabi will bolt quickly with consistent warm weather. Succession planting works well for this crop, with seeds sown every 2 to 3 weeks through early summer, just like cilantro. Sow seeds for a fall harvest in July. Water regularly and shade tender seedlings. A lightweight row cover will protect the seedling from sun, wind, and insects for their first few weeks.

Tomatillo (Physalis ixocarpa)

Tomatillos are part of the Solanaceae, or nightshade family, along with tomatoes, and are native to Mexico and Central America. The fruit has a papery husk and is the size of a small tomato. Remove the husk and wash off the sticky film prior to use. With a citrus-like, acidic flavor, tomatillos are used in sauces and salsas.

There are tomatillo cultivars with green or purple fruit and one that has a pineapple flavor, 'Pinaple.' Start seeds indoors 4 to 5 weeks before the planting date. Tomatillos require more space than tomatoes—at least 3 feet in diameter, and need good support. They are indeterminate plants, thus producing fruit at a high yield throughout the growing season. Fruit typically falls to the ground prior to maturity. Collect the fruits and allow them to ripen in their husks. Refrigerate ripe fruit in husks in a paper bag or freeze them by removing the husks, washing the fruit, and placing it in plastic freezer bags.