Achocha

[meteor]

Has anyone grown Achocha this year? I have two types and things are not going well.
I have "fat baby" which didn't do at all, stunted and no sign of flowers and "giant Bolivian achocha"(first time for me) which has grown well , a rampant vine to tell the truth but only now showing signs of flowers. After last year's great success with fat baby I'm a bit disappointed. How has everyone's achocha crop done?

[Alison]

Not grown it this year as the one year I did I found it was very prolific but most of the fruits didn't get eaten as I found them a bit meh with other things being much nicer.

[Guest]

Mine are late/ first lot of bolivian where chomped at the stem so I resowed and so far I have had a grand total of four from three plants. Fat Baby is only now growing with some self seeded seedlings from 2 year old seed. Lady slipper is growing but that is about it. Exploding cues are healthy but growing in a heap with a few tiny fruit.

[hamamelis]

Well my Fat Baby's certainly got enough leaf growth; it won't let me take the netting off my brassicas or the currant bushes! The crop's only just getting going, though it does have a crazy amount of fruits developing.

I'm not really sure what to do with them all, maybe pickles? Anyone tried that?

[sparrow100]

Mine are v slow Small Child likes eating them when they are 10p size, I like them when they are much bigger, fried in omelettes.

I haven't nearly as many as last year though.

[meteor]

So it seems I'm not alone, my great nieces and nephews loved eating the fat baby achocha when they were about the size of a 20 cent coin, I think it was the novelty value more than anything else, I like them like a little larger as sparrow100 says in omelettes and my Polish neighbour pickled some. I was really looking forward to something from the giant Bolivian, maybe might salvage something yet. Lady slipper not grown them before , mmm... maybe something new to try for next year. Thanks everyone for your helpful input .

[sparrow100]

RealSeeds grow the giant Bolivian inside - is yours under cover?

[meteor]

RealSeeds grow the giant Bolivian inside - is yours under cover?

Yep, it is inside, taken over one end of a polytunnel, invaded my melons (another disappointment for 2015) plenty of foliage but only now showing signs of fruiting.

[sparrow100]

Thanks - am hoping some seeds are coming my way in a seed circle, so that's good to know! Sorry can't be more help.