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Vegetable growing guide
Creeping cucumber (bankunari) is a perennial climbing cucurbit of Indian hills and forest edges with tuberous roots and small fruits eaten unripe. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants, so you need both to get fruit; this guide covers what is known about raising it from seed.
Seed matures 110-120 days after sowing, when the fruit turns red. Wash the seed free of pulp and dry it in the shade. Researchers note that natural propagation of this species by seed and tubers is limited, so sow more seed than the number of plants you want.
No published evidence that it helps. Do not nick or file the seed without a reason.
Not needed in principle: the plant comes from tropical and subtropical India with no cold winter. No trial has tested it.
Not tested for this species. A short soak in clean water is harmless, but there is no data showing that it speeds up germination.
No measured range is published. The species grows in the wet tropical biome, so sow at the start of the warm season or with the pre-monsoon rains, when other cucurbits also germinate well.
No figure for Solena. Cover the seed lightly, about twice its own thickness, in a seed tray or individual pots.
A free-draining mix. In tissue-culture work, young plants were hardened off in a 2:1 mix of black soil and sand, which is a reasonable pot mix for seedlings too.
Keep moist but never waterlogged; germination can take weeks, so check pots regularly.
Not established for germination. Give seedlings bright light once they appear.
IIVR reported germination within about 40 days. Be patient before discarding pots.
Move seedlings carefully once they are established in their pots, keeping the root ball intact. Plant them where the vines can climb a trellis, fence or shrub: vines in the IIVR evaluation averaged 2.86 m, and the PROSEA description gives 1.5-3 m.
In Varanasi, seed-grown plants produced male flowers 58-62 days after sowing and female flowers at about 65 days. Fruit reached edible size at about 95 days and ripe seed at 110-120 days.
Creeping cucumber is dioecious: each plant carries only male or only female flowers, and the two cannot be told apart at the seedling stage. Raise several plants and keep at least one male near the females, or there will be no fruit.
Plants have thick tuberous roots, which are the usual planting material. In the IIVR trial, medium tubers sprouted in 15-16 days, gave vigorous plants that flowered within 48-55 days and reached edible fruit within about 80 days, faster than plants from seed.
IIVR describes it as a typical hill crop that often survives stress; it grows naturally in brushwood and at forest edges. Give it a support, free-draining soil and full sun to light shade.
Pick fruits while green and firm for cooking or eating raw; they turn red when ripe. Leave a few on female plants if you want seed.
Wild populations are declining from over-collection for traditional medicine. Growing it from seed or tubers is the best way to use it.
Sow creeping cucumber seed in warm weather and raise several plants so you have both male and female vines.
Yes. Solena is dioecious, so only female plants bear fruit and they need pollen from a male plant. You cannot tell the sexes apart until the plants flower, which in Varanasi trials was about 58-65 days after sowing, so raise several plants.
It is slow. Indian research reports germination within about 40 days. No tested temperature or soaking method has been published, so keep the seed warm and moist and be patient.
Yes. It is a perennial climber with tuberous roots, and the tubers can be replanted. In trials, plants from medium-sized tubers flowered and fruited sooner than seedlings.
