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On Fri, 30 May 2003 19:13:16 GMT, rebecca
wrote:

On Fri, 30 May 2003 13:48:30 GMT, "ares" wrote:

I recently tried them; they're very good similar to a winter squash, and I'm
wondering if they're easy to grow or not; they're common in the stores here,
not cheap tho'; the site shows they're selling an embryo; hard to tell if
it's a tree fruit or a squash like plant; I think there's a seed in the
middle of them; maybe I should buy another and try planting it. (I enjoyed
drawing a face on mine and it looked like a little toothless face).
ares

There's one big seed in the middle.

G'day G'day Rebecca,

The seed is very soft. There is probably a knack of cutting around
the seed to dice the flesh for stir fry but I haven't found it.

I just read about how to grow them. In the autumn, you put at least
two (you need two plants for pollination) fruits in a dark place like
a cupboard and let them sprout.

Hadn't heard about the pollination issue.

Then you set the fruits sideways in
some potting soil in a warmish place until it's warm enough to plant
tender things outdoors. Take them outside and plant them near a big
trellis or fence, fastening them to the trellis as they grow.. One
thing I read said they need really rich, wonderful soil, and another
said they do well in poor soil. Anyway, they make huge vining plants
with up to 200 fruits per plant, but you have to get them started
early if you're to get fruit in a short growing season.

They're perennial in warm climates, and make tubers like dahlias which
you can leave in the ground or eat. Maybe in colder climes you could
lift the tubers and store them in the basement for the winter.

--Rebecca

Thanks Rebecca, I've also read about the tubers being edible but have
never seen them for sale. Its rather exciting rediscovering this
information.


--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, #,# [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin