Growing vining peach plants

Curiosity hit me when I first came across vining peach seeds because peaches are among one of my favorite fruits. However, I was sorta let down when I saw that vining peaches honestly aren't peaches at all. So what are they really? Today I will try answering this question for y'all.

Vining peaches (Cucumis melo chito) are actually just mini melons. The fruit has many different names. Some may call them peach melons, mango-melons, miniature cantaloupe melons, or miniature honeydew melons. The vining peach produces seeds in the center of the fruit, instead of having a pit. The seeds are white, oblong, and look similar to cucumber and other melon seeds such as a cantaloupe.

The fragrance of the peach melon is similar to that of a honeydew melon, but also has a slight scent of a peach. So I believe that maybe that's the reason for its name. However, the vining peach tastes nothing like an actual peach that's been grown from a tree. A vining peach grows about the same size as a peach that's been grown on a tree and it generally takes about eighty days for the melon plants to start producing their fruit.

Vining peaches were once extremely popular in the Victorian era for making jelly, pies, and sweet relish pickles. The seeds were produced by China and introduced to America in the 1800s.

This plant grows best on trellising structures outside, but it can also be grown in containers inside on trellises. However, the plants need to be placed in an area where they'll receive full sun. I am growing mine in my indoor greenhouse under LED grow-lights.

Planting vining peach seeds:

Vining peaches are a warm season crop and the months of April thru June are a really good time to start planting them.

 

Plant the seeds in a sandy, nutrient-rich soil, ½ inch deep. Water as often as needed during germination. (If you're planting the seeds outside, space about eighteen inches apart.)

The seeds will start sprouting normally in seven to fourteen days. If you plant the seeds in seedling containers, transplant them when they reach four to six inches tall either outside, or inside bigger containers. The pots should be sixteen inches deep and fourteen inches wide, and have drainage holes. (I have two vining peaches per container.) I grow vining peaches basically in the same manner as I grow cantaloupe and cucumber plants. The plants can get as high as four to five feet in height if grown on a trellis. 

Vining peaches are a hardy plant that grows extremely well in the summer. The plants grow best when temperatures are between seventy-five and ninety degrees F. The plants are annual, so try to save the seeds for your gardening pleasure next season.