So – I purchased this variety because it was supposed to be some kind of regular striped cucumber that originated in a Polish monastery. Between the name and origin and the hope that it would have stripes, I was interested.
Starting
out the plants was easy. They grew a lot faster in the cool spring soil
then my Carosello cucumbers did. This is to be expected because Cucumis
sativus is much more tolerant to cool temperatures than Cucumis melo (or regular melon)
is.
Over
time the plants became big enough to flower. I was very excited to see
what they might become. However, as the fruit began to mature I noticed
something – there were no stripes. Not even a bit of stripes. As is the
case with many of the cucumber and melon varieties that I grow, the
picture and/or description does not always match what I experience in
growing out the plant – especially when it comes to the appearance of
the fruit.
Once
I saw that there were no stripes, I decided to taste the fruit to see
if it had any redemptive qualities. The fruit had a moderately pleasant
texture, but had some slight bitterness. This was not a variety that I
was willing to grow for harvest – so I decided that it was time to pull
them in order to leave enough room for my other plants.
Though
I love most cucumber plants, not every cucumber variety is worth
perpetuating. In some cases, it is important to determine if the number
of positive qualities that the cucumber variety possesses outweighs its
negative qualities.
I have a very difficult time encouraging anyone to
invest their time and attention in growing out anything that I wouldn’t
like to eat – and I generally will not recommend growing anything that I
personally don’t enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Dear Gardening Friends,
I look forward to learning more about gardening with you. Your comments help me recognize that gardening is a life-long journey.
To advertisers: Note that this blog is concerned with gardening and gardening techniques. Please do not attempt to advertise here by leaving a comment. Depending upon how egregious the comment is, it may be deleted.