Grape Harvest Bin Tar Kakdi

After the issues I had with side dressing my wonderful crop with diseased compost, I decided to try growing some more in a grape harvest bin located at a friend’s house. The plants grew quickly and well. Unfortunately, starting plants out in Mid-August isn’t typically the best idea when trying to grow any kind of muskmelon in Fairfield, California. Particularly because of issues related to Powdery Mildew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a whole bunch of fun watching these grow. They start out so thin – nearly as thin as a pencil. But as they grow out, they lengthen dramatically. Some days, I almost felt like I could see them grow longer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My family and I definitely enjoyed the opportunity to take photos with the Tar Kakdi. Additionally, one of the Tar Kakdi seemed to enjoy the car ride back to my house. The short amount of time along with my previous failure made for a bittersweet end to the season. With all this being said, I would definitely grow the Tar Kakdi again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tar Kakdi vs Bacteria Wilt

 

The Tar Kakdi is a light green snake melon (Cucumis melo) that is very similar to an Armenian cucumber. The variety is picked very immature when the fruit is still young and only an inch or two in diameter. At this stage the fruit is not just tender, yet crisp – but much better than a regular Armenian cucumber. With all this being said, growing the Tar Kakdi presented a challenge for me in 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The plants started off very well and the fruits grew at a good pace. The length of the fruit was amazing and the "cool" factor was very high. Why not make things better? To ensure that my plants did well I added compost. That is where my primary mistake took place. The compost was not the expensive compost that one would pay a premium for, but city compost – with plenty of bad bacteria and disease.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was not long after putting a layer of compost on the plants that the disease began. It started with just a little bit of wilt, but quickly made its way around the garden until all of the plants were hit by it. Sometimes we have good ideas and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes you get what you pay for. And sometimes you get less than you pay for – even if it is free.