A Strong Will to Live

There's no way to explain it other than some plants have a strong will to live. I've never been a fan of cantaloupes, so last spring when I received a free packet of vine peach (Cucumis melo) seeds, I set the packet aside. Then in September when I started to clear out some of my summer vegetable plants in the yard, I decided to throw a few vine peach seeds in the ground and ignored them, not expecting them to grow.

In late fall I noticed one of them growing. Not being planted at the right time of year and expecting it to die, I never bothered to water it. Surprisingly it continued to grow, surviving the freeze we had during the winter, and staying alive only with the infrequent rain this year. Curious, since I hadn't heard of a vine peach before, I did a little research on the plant.

The vine peach, also known as a mango melon, peach melon, and chito melon, is an annual cantaloupe plant that was very popular in Victorian times. Introduced to American in the 1880's, it produces small melons the size of a peach. It is usually ready for harvest in 60 to 90 days. The melons reportedly have a mild taste and are frequently used for jam, for pies and cakes, and even pickled.

The plants reportedly grow a foot tall with vines up to 10 feet long. Obviously my plant has different ideas since it's about 3 feet tall. I doubt it will ever bear any cantaloupes, but who knows, it just may surprise me. I'm going to have to plant my vegetable garden around this plant out of respect. Given its will to survive, I just don't have the heart to kill it.

Vine peach. (photo by Kathy Low)

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