I am looking for the Melothria scabra. It is native to Mexico and Central America. Does anyone have any seeds? I would like to try them! They look so cute! Just like tiny watermelons with a cucumber taste! If you have any, please look at my trade list. If you know where to get some, that is appreciated too. I have checked Amazon.com and the company that sells them has very poor quality seeds (really low germination rates on normal veggies). Any help is appreciated!

I highly recommend growing mouse melons. They climb very readily and have tendrils. My single plant is extremely vigorous, and is, to some extent all through my 6'x10' raised garden bed, and at least 6' up a trellis. Pretty sure it would be taking over the lawn if it was allowed. It is in a sense small and delicate, the vines are lightweight and delicate, and I don't think it would be too hard to keep it smaller/ more under control than I have. I think you could grow them on a low trellis, though a taller one probably makes better use of space and makes harvesting a little easier. My mouse melon sprawls in all directions and is very happy to grow on the ground as well as up the trellis and over other plants... They compete very effectively with other plants! I direct seeded my mouse melon in early October (Spring here), begun harvesting mid January. The harvest has been increasing exponentially ever since. It is a difficult to keep up. I have pickled some, and given plenty away. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with what happens to a Mouse melon plant in a mild frostless winter? Three weeks till winter here, and it keeps growing. I wonder will it die back? Stop fruiting at some minimum temperature?

Sicyos angulatus looks like a good candidate, it is the only Sicyos present in MI. The leaf shape is very similar but it is suppose to have hairy vines and the photo I have of the vines shows them smooth. I guess the most confusing thing about this vine is the fact that it never had flowers or fruit, and I checked it closely all through the year. Echinocystis lobata was observed in another location but it's leaves are much more pointed, it had profuse white flowers and was covered in spiny fruits in the late summer, which is why it was much easier to ID.

Appears to be. But then again I don't remember them having such long stems on the fruit (it's been several years since I grew them). Rodney