Armenian cucumber: planting, care & harvesting
The Armenian cucumber, also known as snake melon or cucumber, is a variety of muskmelon. Find out what this curious plant looks like, what varieties there are and how you can successfully grow your own snake melons.
The Armenian cucumber (Cucumis melo var. flexuosus) strongly resembles a cucumber on the outside but has sweet juicy flesh with a slight melon flavour on the inside. Here are tips on how to grow snake cucumbers at home.
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Armenian cucumber: origin and properties
The Armenian cucumber, also called snake cucumber, snake melon, serpent melon or yard-long cucumber, is a subspecies of the melon (Cucumis melo) and belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. It is indeed closely related to the common cucumber (Cucumis sativus), but they cannot be grown together. Armenian cucumbers originally come from the subtropics and tropics of Asia, but they came to Europe via Armenia, hence the name. Armenian cucumbers are now a common vegetable from the Mediterranean to Japan.
Annual snake cucumbers are climbers, reaching a height of about 40cm. Thanks to its numerous stems, it can occupy up to a square metre of space. The stem of the cucurbit are rough and, like the rest of the plant, covered with stiff, short hairs. Its leaves grow from long stalks and are heart-shaped with toothed edges. Both tendrils and flower buds develop from the leaf axils.
If sown early, the Armenian cucumber flowers between June and September. The melon variety produces lemon yellow to sunny yellow flowers. The flowers have five petals that form a funnel and are either female or male, meaning they only produce pollen. Armenian cucumbers are cross-pollinators, so they rely on insects for pollination.
After pollination, Armenian cucumber female flowers form spherical, oval, or long, soft-haired light green fruits, some of which have dark green stripes. Snake cucumber seeds ripen inside the fruit until late autumn.
Armenian cucumber varieties
There are now several varieties of serpent melons that differ in fruit shape, texture and taste.
- ‘Armenian’: long, thin and heavily ribbed fruits that look like pale green salad cucumbers
- ‘Barese’: light green, teardrop-shaped fruits with pale green stripes; young fruits are soft and fuzzy
- ‘Mezza Lungo di Polignano’: fruits that grow up to 15cm long and are covered with hairs; sweet taste
- ‘Tondo di Fasano’: spherical green fruits with white flesh; harvested when their diameter is about 10cm
- ‘Tondo di Manduria’: round snake cucumber with light green skin and dark green stripes; juicy, sweet and soft flesh
How to grow Armenian cucumbers
Armenian cucumbers prefer sunny, warm and sheltered locations. They like loose, humus- and nutrient-rich soil that retains water well. The ideal location is in a greenhouse or along a south-facing wall, as the plant requires a lot of heat. Snake cucumber plants can also be grown on balconies or in raised beds. In the garden, it is best to plant the snake melon on a south-facing slope, as the soil warms up more quickly there and excess water can drain away. In addition, always grow at least two snake cucumber plants together to enable cross-pollination, as it will result in more fruits of better quality. After growing snake cucumber plants, do not plant any cucurbits in the same spot for four years. Read more about 4-year crop rotation in our other article.
The snake cucumber, like its relatives, melons and cucumbers, is either started indoors or sown directly in the bed after the last frost. Starting the plants indoors has the decisive advantage of bringing the harvest forward by a few weeks, resulting in higher overall fruit production for the season.
To start Armenian cucumber seeds indoors, sow the seeds in half-filled pots or seedling trays on a nutrient-poor substrate from the beginning of April. Cover with 1 to 2cm of soil and water well. Our peat-free Plantura Organic Herb & Seedling Compost is ideal for starting vegetable plants, but also for herbs that are light feeders. It stores moisture well, releasing it to the plant roots when needed. At the same time, it ensures good aeration and reduces the risk of waterlogging in the pot. After planting and watering the seeds, place the grow pots in a warm and bright place at 20 to 25 °C. The first seedlings can be seen after one to two weeks.
If the seedlings begin to protrude beyond the edge of the pot, fill the rest of the pot with nutrient-rich soil. If the seedlings are sharing a pot, prick out and separate the Armenian cucumbers as soon as the first true leaves are visible. Before planting them out, acclimatise the snake melon seedlings to sunlight and outdoor temperatures for a few hours for a week or so.
You can plant out snake cucumber plants from the middle of May after the last frost. Choose a suitable location and prepare the soil or a container with a volume of at least 15 to 20L. Be sure your planting location or container has good drainage. In the garden bed, loosen the soil and, if necessary, enrich it with mature compost or a slow-release fertiliser, such as our Plantura Tomato Food. Fertilising the nutrient-hungry snake cucumbers early supports vigorous growth and setting flowers. Choose a fertiliser that releases slowly over several weeks, as this prevents both over and under-fertilisation.
If you want to grow your snake melon in a pot, add a 2 to 5cm drainage layer of expanded clay, gravel or sand to the bottom of the pot to prevent waterlogging. Then, fill the pot with a nutrient-rich potting soil such as our Plantura Organic Tomato & Vegetable Compost. It has a high compost content, which promotes root formation and stores water. This also eliminates the need for peat, which is harmful to the environment. You can also add compost or a predominantly organic slow-release fertiliser to the potting soil.
- Perfect for tomatoes & other vegetables such as chillies, courgettes & more
- For strong & healthy plant growth as well as an abundant vegetable harvest
- Peat-free & organic soil: CO2-saving composition
When transplanting Armenian cucumber plants, place the roots 1 to 2cm below the surface of the soil. Space the plants 50cm apart, keeping 1m between rows. Lightly press down the soil around the young plant and water vigorously. If you want your snake cucumbers to grow vertically, insert a climbing support into the soil when planting. Find out more about growing melons vertically in our article on cucumber trellis.
Armenian cucumber care
Like other cucurbits, Armenian cucumbers are thirsty and nutrient-hungry plants. Water snake melons regularly, especially in summer, and never let the soil dry out completely. Warm rainwater collected in a butt is ideal for this; excessively cold water can lead to growth problems and damage the roots. Avoid watering the leaves; only apply water directly to the soil to prevent diseases such as mildew.
Fertilisation is a care measure that cannot be skipped if you want to grow your snake cucumbers successfully. These climbing plants need a constant supply of nitrogen and potassium, especially during flowering and fruiting. If a slow-release fertiliser was added during planting, it will be necessary to top it up after about three months. It can be difficult to work fertiliser into the soil at this point, so another option is to use an organic liquid fertiliser, such as our Plantura Liquid Tomato Food. This is simply applied when watering about once a week. It works quickly and can even help with acute symptoms of nutrient deficiency.
- Perfect for tomatoes & other vegetables
- Liquid fertiliser for healthy plant growth & an abundant harvest
- Quick & easy application - child & pet friendly
Pinching encourages the serpent melon plants to branch out more. This is especially useful for plants trailing on the ground. Pinching involves cutting off the shoot tip after about five leaves have developed. This makes the main stem branch out and form numerous side shoots, leading to more compact growth. Pinching also promotes fruit growth, as the plant redirects its energy into the fruit instead of the shoot tip.
Harvesting and preparing Armenian cucumbers
Armenian cucumbers can be harvested very young and used just like a cucumber. Their skin is more tender than that of cucumbers, and they have a cucumber flavour but are mildly sweet. Unlike common cucumbers, Armenian cucumbers do not contain bitter substances such as cucurbitacin; This makes them an ideal substitute for people who do not tolerate cucumbers. Long snake cucumber varieties can be harvested when the fruits are 15 and 25cm long. The round varieties are ready for harvesting when the fruits are about 10 to 12cm in diameter. Use a sharp knife or secateurs to harvest the fruit.
If you leave the fruits on the plant a bit longer, they will develop more sugars and a more melon-like flavour. After harvesting, the fruits only keep for a few days and should be eaten quickly. Whether in a salad, stewed and fried in Asian curries or as a snack between meals, snake cucumbers can be used anywhere you would also use cucumbers or melons. Of course, Armenian cucumbers can be preserved too. Learn how to preserve cucumbers in our feature article.
