The Morelle de Balbis is an unusual fruit-vegetable !

1 m high, covered with spines, it produces light blue flowers from which clusters of fruit are born, wrapped in a spiny shell, like that of the chestnut . The sweet and tangy fruit tastes like lychee .
You have to wait until the shell opens completely to collect the fruit, which can be eaten "plain" , cooked or made into jam.

Sowing and Cultivation

Sowing: in trays of good seed compost, in April at 20°. Transplant into peat pots as soon as the plant has formed 2 leaves. Keep the temperature at around 20°. At the end of May, beginning of June, transplant in a good exposure, in enriched and loosened soil. Avoid growing near aubergines and potatoes . Harvest mid-September.