So back to the Light Carosello Leccese. Given the information that my friend, Giuseppe provided me, this specific population of carosello was highly consistent for producing light, fine textured, cylindrical fruit on a semi-bushy plant. I chose to start the seeds in soil blocks, then transfer the blocks into 10 inch hydroponic baskets. I would either find someone who I could lend me some space to grow them out in 5-gallon buckets, or I could find a location to transplant them into the ground.
Fortunately, around the same time I was getting ready to grow out this variety, I also started the raised bed gardens that I have been growing in. However, before I was done filling the second raised bed (where I planned on putting the hydroponic baskets, the plants were already too large to leave in the 5-gallon buckets. So instead of letting them get too warm, I started by placing them in the ground of the fertile garden.
Moving my plants for the second time was not too easy for the Light Leccese. Most cucumbers and melons don’t like their roots being moved once the seed is planted in the ground – and this instance was no exception. Rather than waiting until evening to plant them, I transplanted them into their new garden bed in the morning of a very warm day. As a result the plants suffered for about a week before they could really get back to where they were before I moved them. While not all the fruit that ended up growing from this variety was as consistent as I would prefer, it turned out to have a very consistently tender texture and exhibited a high quality. I saved the seeds of the most consistent plant (that which produced only cylindrical fruit with tender texture) to be able to grow out again in the future. I am currently planning on having a couple others help me with this project, so hopefully I will have plenty of high-quality and consistent seed for years to come.
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