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Post by meandtk on Dec 15, 2021 11:40:15 GMT -5
Has anyone grown merlitons or have tips?
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Post by brownrexx on Dec 15, 2021 18:07:55 GMT -5
Never heard of them.
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Post by spike on Dec 15, 2021 23:23:47 GMT -5
I had to google to even see what they are. Sorry.
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Post by meandtk on Dec 15, 2021 23:36:47 GMT -5
AKA chayote
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Post by octave1 on Dec 16, 2021 9:21:39 GMT -5
It's a type of gourd, and the correct name is Mirliton. I often see them in grocery stores. I believe its flavor and texture are like those of an overgrown zucchini, but firmer. This is what it tastes like according to Wikipedia: "The fruit does not need to be peeled to be cooked or fried in slices. It has a very mild flavor. It is commonly served with seasonings (e.g., salt, butter and pepper in Australia) or in a dish with other vegetables and flavorings. It can also be boiled, stuffed, mashed, baked, fried, or pickled in escabeche sauce. Both fruit and seed are rich in amino acids and vitamin C. Fresh green fruit are firm and without brown spots or signs of sprouting; smaller fruit are usually more tender. Chayote can be sliced lengthwise and eaten using salad dressing dip. The seed is edible and tasty to some when served cold when dipped in dressing. The tuberous part of the root is starchy and eaten like a yam (can be fried). It can be used as pig or cattle fodder."
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Post by brownrexx on Dec 16, 2021 9:45:45 GMT -5
Interesting octave1, I didn't expect that there were vegetables that I had never heard of.
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Post by brownrexx on Dec 16, 2021 12:42:46 GMT -5
I Googled merlitons and seeing the picture tells me that yes, I have seen them before in a store. Maybe they were called chayote but in any case I have never grown or eaten them. Most of the recipes seemed to be Southern so maybe they do not grow well here.
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Post by octave1 on Dec 16, 2021 21:26:37 GMT -5
brownrexx, I suspect chayote would take a whole lot of garden space to grow, so much that if you google "chayote vines" you'll see that it's mostly trained vertically on sturdy fences and such (like loofah, which is a plant chayote reminds me of); also chayote DTM is some 120-150 days, so it's almost impossible to grow in our zone 5-6, like you suggested.
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Post by brownrexx on Dec 17, 2021 8:56:29 GMT -5
Thanks octave1 , I don't have enough space for something like that so I think that I'll just stick with acorn squash as my winter squash and zucchini and yellow squash as my summer squashes. I started growing acorn squash vertically and it really works great. The vines cover my trellis and I forget about them until one day I look closely and see poof! about a dozen squash! It is fun to find them when I am not expecting it. I like to cut them in half and bake upside down until soft and then add honey and a little butter. Yummy.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 17, 2021 11:01:11 GMT -5
I tried growing the chayote many years ago, since it is a different genus than the ones I can't grow, but it still got squash vine borers. So if they are present in your area, you don't want to grow these. Otherwise, they taste really good, and are heat resistant.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Dec 17, 2021 12:56:08 GMT -5
Well, that rules them out for me. Not only do I not have the space for big vines, but their susceptibility to SVBs is a double whammy.
Nice to know they taste good, though. I see them at the grocery store occasionally, so maybe I will buy one to try sometime.
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