When Is a Vine Peach Ripe?

Fruit Characteristics

• Plum- to orange-sized melons grow at the base of the female flowers. Ripe fruits are yellow to green-yellow and have a thin, leathery skin. They are not aromatic and weigh around 9 ounces. The flesh is white and resembles that of a cucumber. The vine peach is not sweet when ripe, with a relatively low Brix rating of 5 when mature. Brix measurements indicate the levels of dissolved solids, including sugars, in plant juices. For comparison, U.S. Fancy grade cantaloupes need a minimum Brix rating of 11.

Plant Description and Relationships

• A vine peach plant grows to 5 feet long. The plant flowers from July to September with both male and female flowers on the same plant. Ripe fruits contain mature white seeds from August to October. Plants are self-fertile, and bees pollinate the flowers. The leaves and growth habit resemble those of other members of the Cucumis melo varietal groups, such as cantaloupe and muskmelon. In addition to the vine peach, or "Chito" varietal group, there are six other melon groups. They are the sweet-tasting cantaloupe group, the winter melon or honeydew and casaba group, the netted melon group containing muskmelons and Persian melons, and then the other three nonsweet groups: the snake melon group, the Oriental pickling melon group, and the ornamental stinking melon group.

Cultivation

• Vine peach grows in a warm, sunny location with ample moisture. Primarily a garden plant, vine peach can escape from cultivation to naturalize in fields and waste places. Plant the seed in a rich, well-drained soil once all danger of frost has passed, and keep the seed bed moist. Seeds usually sprout within two to three weeks. You can also start seeds indoors six weeks before the last expected frost, planting two to three seeds per pot and thinning to the largest seedling once the second set of true leaves forms. Gradually accustom the seedlings to outdoor conditions over the course of a week before planting them in the garden.

Uses

• The ripe melons can be peeled and eaten raw, but mostly they are made into pickles and used for marmalades, preserves and pies. Whole unripe melons are sometimes pickled. Sometimes fruits are eaten cooked. If you plant vine peach with the expectation of getting a sweet dessert fruit, you will be disappointed. However, if they are used for pickles or preserves, according to "Vaughn's Seeds Illustrated" of 1896, "they have no equal."