Gaia / West Indian Gherkin ‘Gherkin’ / Certified Organic by Ecocert Canada / Annual

Open-pollinated West Indian Gherkin ‘gherkin’ seeds – Annual type – Heirloom – Certified Organic by Écocert Canada

This ‘gherkin’, bearing numerous small, cucumber-like fruits covered with blunt thorns, was a common crop in the Monticello vegetable garden. Thomas Jefferson recommended it to his brother, Randolph, in 1813: “The season being over for planting everything except the gherkin.

This is the name we give to the very small pickling cucumber.” This was probably the West Indian Gherkin (Cucumis anguria), native to Africa and introduced to the Caribbean through the slave trade, then reputed to be introduced from Jamaica in 1792 by seed merchant Minton Collins of Richmond. This plant was documented by Thomas Jefferson in his Garden Book, ‘Notes on the State of Virginia’ and other writings. Long, vigorous vines need a trellis. Eat raw, cooked or marinated.