Sowing Timun Tikus seeds (Zehneria)

How many times bank slips, address on a piece of paper, dollar notes, and seeds tucked in pocket ended in washing machine and spoiled. I reminded Fauzi, a friend staying in a gorgeous an acre property in Tanah Merah, as he was about to leave the house with roselle seeds in his pocket. Fauzi is an old friend since the days of late 80's.

I came back from a meeting 3 weeks ago at Swiss Garden Resort some 20 km away from Pantai Remis with seeds in my pocket. Some are taken from Rosiah garden, my younger sister, some from Mother in Law's garden and some are collected from flowering plants as we stopped along the highway.  The seeds were germinated right away. Timun tikus has to be the special one for months to come.

Timun tikus seedling.

I have known about timun tikus, the miniature cucumber but never actually seen one growing. It is a rare opportunity indeed to actually grow them with seeds given by MIL. After googling, I think this will describe timun tikus best:.........

Zehneria, 

 monoecious or dioecious climbing annual or perennial herbs. Tendrils simple. Leaves simple, dentate, usually palmately lobed. Male inflorescence an axillary raceme, sometimes paniculate by leaf reduction, or cluster or rarely flowers solitary. Male flowers: hypanthium campanulate; calyx 5-lobed; corolla 5-lobed; stamens 3, inserted about middle of hypanthium; connective broad, papillose; anthers 2-locular. Female inflorescence an axillary raceme or cluster or flowers solitary. Female flowers: perianth similar to male; staminodes 3; ovary usually globose or ovoid; ovules few to many, horizontal; stigma usually 3-lobed. Fruit fleshy, usually globose or ellipsoidal, indehiscent, few to many-seeded. Seeds obovate, compressed, smooth. 

A genus of c. 35 species of Africa, SE Asia to the SW Pacific including N and E Australia; 2 species in Australia; 1 species on Christmas Is. Included in trib. Melothrieae. ( Refer here : "Zehneria". Flora of Australia Online. Australian Biological Resources Study. 1993. http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/online-resources/flora/stddisplay.xsql?pnid=6787. Retrieved 2010-11-20.)

Two timun tikus seedlings ready to be moved to the ground

The raised bed for these seedlings had been prepared, and in fact I was terribly lavish, putting in cocopeat, rice husk, organic fertiliser and sand, mixed them well and watered. The two seedlings will set foot or rather roots on the ground in a day or two. I do hope they will grow healthy and produce numerous little cucumbers like these.

timun tikus, from mforum.cari.com 

bangchik and kakdah

Tanah Merah Kelantan
MALAYSIA