Growing the ML Barese in the Fall

So I decided to grow the Mezzo Lungo Barese in the Fall. This was after previously growing it earlier in the fertile garden. According to a friend of mine, who we will call Angelo, the Mezzo Lungo Barese is supposed to be much like the Mezzo Lungo (or medium long) of Polignano – except the Mezzo Lungo Barese is longer. So, after selecting out the longest fruit from a trial done in my friend’s fertile garden, I grew out from the seed I had saved earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The couple plants grew quickly and well. There was one thing that was a bit disconcerting though. The fruit kept cracking. I kept pulling the fruit whenever it would crack. Only later did I think about what the physiological reason for the cracking might be. It turned out that there was a period of time in which there was no water going to the plant. This caused the fruit to crack. Once I resolved the water issue and made sure that the plants had consistent water restored, then the fruit cracked again because the older outer part of the fruit could not keep up with the swelling of the inner flesh of the fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the end, I did end up saving a little bit of seed and eating a number of Mezzo Lungo Barese. As carosello go, they are alright. Not my favorite, but definitely not the worst. In the near-term, I am planning on growing this variety out again as soon as I get another chance.