Achocha anyone?

Food, Nutrition and Agriculture
User avatar
ukpreppergrrl
Posts: 587
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 9:03 am
Location: London

Achocha anyone?

Post by ukpreppergrrl »

Sunday morning web surfing usually results in only one thing: the spending of money, so generally I resist. However I seem to have become a full time carer for my cat and so my boredom threshold has sunk to a new low. Mooching around various forums I came across "achocha" (a-cho-cha I believe is the pronunciation). A relative of the cucumber from the High Andes. It seems to be the latest trendy veggie to grow :D It's allegedly, easy, tasty and prolific - a rare combination. You know it's trendy because The Guardian did an article on it last year: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... tle-cousin. So I've ordered some seeds: the Fat Baby variety which grows outdoors in the UK. I am a little late to the game with sowing this year, though the weather is so cold outside my windowsills are chokka with seedlings all giving me the "please, don't put us outside yet!" trembling look, so it's probably not such a bad thing. Not quite sure where I'll plant it as it can scramble up to 10 feet tall but I'm sure I'll find somewhere! Has anyone else tried achocha?
Blog: http://ukpreppergrrl.wordpress.com
التَكْرَارُ يُعَلِّمُ الحِمارَ "Repetition teaches the donkey" Arabic proverb
"A year from now you may wish you had started today" Karen Lamb
jansman
Posts: 13622
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: Achocha anyone?

Post by jansman »

You are not late to the party with your sowing . I have sat on my hands this year. I have tomatoes, chillies and leeks on the go, and everything else will follow in good time. It’s been too cold. The Achocha sounds interesting.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
User avatar
Jamesey1981
Posts: 983
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 11:46 pm
Location: A Postbox on Baker Street.

Re: Achocha anyone?

Post by Jamesey1981 »

Never heard of them, they look awesome, I'll be ordering some on payday. Wonder how they'll pickle. :)
That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.
User avatar
ukpreppergrrl
Posts: 587
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 9:03 am
Location: London

Re: Achocha anyone?

Post by ukpreppergrrl »

Achocha update: 3 out of the 8 seeds sown germinated after just a few days, though one of them is rather runty. Currently hardening off...
Blog: http://ukpreppergrrl.wordpress.com
التَكْرَارُ يُعَلِّمُ الحِمارَ "Repetition teaches the donkey" Arabic proverb
"A year from now you may wish you had started today" Karen Lamb
User avatar
ukpreppergrrl
Posts: 587
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 9:03 am
Location: London

Re: Achocha anyone?

Post by ukpreppergrrl »

Achcocha update:

So the runty 3rd seedling didn't make it, but after a slow start the other two are now suddenly taking off up the wall!

Image

Yes that's 3 onions in the front :D
Blog: http://ukpreppergrrl.wordpress.com
التَكْرَارُ يُعَلِّمُ الحِمارَ "Repetition teaches the donkey" Arabic proverb
"A year from now you may wish you had started today" Karen Lamb
User avatar
ukpreppergrrl
Posts: 587
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 9:03 am
Location: London

Re: Achocha anyone?

Post by ukpreppergrrl »

Achocha update:

After lots of leafy vine growth I'm finally getting some flower stalks appearing:
Image

However the plants are going yellow from the bottom up which I think is a lack of nitrogen. Am about to shove more chicken poo in. Any other diagnosis from gardening gurus out there?
Image
Blog: http://ukpreppergrrl.wordpress.com
التَكْرَارُ يُعَلِّمُ الحِمارَ "Repetition teaches the donkey" Arabic proverb
"A year from now you may wish you had started today" Karen Lamb
featherstick
Posts: 1124
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:09 pm

Re: Achocha anyone?

Post by featherstick »

Give them a drink of tomato food, more likely to be balanced across the spectrum of nutrients for vine-growing cucumber-y things. Nitrogen at this stage can promote too much soft leafy vulnerable growth.
User avatar
ukpreppergrrl
Posts: 587
Joined: Tue Aug 12, 2014 9:03 am
Location: London

Re: Achocha anyone?

Post by ukpreppergrrl »

Achcocha update:
Baby achocha!!! Taken about a week ago...
Image
Blog: http://ukpreppergrrl.wordpress.com
التَكْرَارُ يُعَلِّمُ الحِمارَ "Repetition teaches the donkey" Arabic proverb
"A year from now you may wish you had started today" Karen Lamb
OperationPrep
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 4:27 pm
Location: London

Re: Achocha anyone?

Post by OperationPrep »

This sounds like a great addition - how did they end up looking? And more importantly - how did they taste?