Bigger than Billy May’s grandson, Zucca melons averaged 60 to 100 pounds and were a lucrative crop in the South Okanagan from the 1930s to the 1950s. Seeds were difficult to acquire, but F.E. Atkinson managed to procure a few and in 1939 the first crop in the valley sprouted at the Experimental Farm. Since citrus peel was not available during the war, the pale, tasteless flesh of the Zucca, (easily flavoured and coloured) was used to replace lemon and orange peel and maraschino cherries for Christmas cakes and as a filler for jams. Want to grow your own Zuccas? You’ll require the hard to find seeds and a very large garden.