Fruit keeps for many months off the vine, making it a staple in colder months. The skin will form a white waxy layer when ripe. Use the white flesh of this giant fruit in a chicken and wax-gourd curry, or get creative and use it as part of the presentation. Serve appetizers of finely chopped stir-fried vegetables, for example, scooped into small hollowed-out bowls made from the melon flesh. Requires a long, warm growing season. Prepare fertile, well-drained soil. Sow seeds in late spring/early summer after last frost in a warm, sunny location. Soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours to soften the hard seed coat.