Chinese Cucumber, Gac Fruit, Chinese Bitter Cucumber, Spiny Bitter Cucumber

The plant is either male or female. You will need both to fruit. The young leaves and shoots are edible as leafy vegetable after cooked....Read More The fruit before change color, is also edible after cooked. Often used in soup.

Fruit when changing color (orange red) then the seeds become toxic if eaten. Ripe fruit only eat the seeds fleshy coating. The orange red fleshy coating are used to cook with rick for the benefit of eye health.

Seeds can be germinated easily after removing shell then place on moist paper towel for germination. After germination then plant into soil. This way can reduce seeds unnecessary risk of moulding.

Pass Christian, MS, USA Border of Zone 8B-9A Soil pH 5.5-6.5 Humid air, mostly. I was quite frustrated with ordering seeds from Asia. ...Read More Ordered GAC seeds many times, and had pitiful germination, partly because of 6-8 week quarantine, and perhaps many of the seeds sold, I think, are old. Managed to get 3 to become vines. Had one in a pot to take in, and two in the ground under oaks with about 2 inches of leaves over the roots. Winter came. One night dipped to 13F, and the freeze lasted about 14 hours. Thought for sure that they were obliterated, but by June they re-sprouted from slightly underground. They grew to about 25 ft. Last Winter we had 5 days below freezing with 2 inches of snow, and nights at 17F, and 19F. Thought for certain that they died, but by late summer they were 40ft long with woody, caudexed bases. Rooted in water about 60 cuttings from the 3 vines, naming each donor vine, so that when they flower, and can be sexed , and I can label unflowered cuttings based on the original plant . Nearly all cuttings rooted, even if they had only one node. I'm hoping that in the next growth season with good nutrition they wjll make mature fruit before winter. Intend to update.

Tried to grow this plant from seed several years ago without success. Recently ordered seeds from unclechan'sgarden on eBay and they wer...Read Moree already sprouting when they arrived. I now have two dozen healthy little plants and more coming. I am not related to unclechan and recommen his seeds because they grew when others didn't.katie

So far not so good... I planted 3 seeds in early August growing inside under lights... Never sprouted. I have just planted 3 more in som...Read Moree wondersoil reground and will watch closely.

Until I see one sprout I am leaving this as a neutral entry.

Updated: Look at the picture to see the results growing under lights...