The Xylangouro Greek Cucumber

What can I say about the Xylangouro? I watched a video once that touted it as better than the regular Armenian cucumber. While this may be true, I’m not too impressed with this Greek landrace variety. It did alright in the greenhouse for me, but the flowers were all different and the shape of the fruit was a bit irregular.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite being sold by a well-known company, I’m not sure if I will be growing the Xylangouro to offer to others for a while. Why is that, you ask? The texture of the fruit that I tried, along with the variable flower type tells me that this is a variety that promises more work than reward. Though it may sound selfish, I prefer to grow the more promising varieties first and save the less rewarding varieties until later. Over time I usually get around to the others.

Dark Armenian Cucumber in the Greenhouse

Desperate for a supplier of Dark Armenian cucumbers, I tried one well-known seed seller. Unfortunately, the germination was not up to specifications. That being said, I still wanted to know if the variety was actually what it was advertised as – just in case I needed an additional source of Dark Armenian cucumber seed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I grew it out in the greenhouse in the spring. The variety did alright. It wasn’t exactly as vigorous as I would have hoped, but given that it sprouted from old seed, I was happy when the fruit eventually set. One fruit was enough to let me know that it was true-to-type, howbeit not want I would want to use for my future population of Dark Armenian cucumbers.

Tar Kakdi in the Greenhouse

Around the same time that I started growing my last outdoor Tar Kakdi, I started growing a few Tar Kakdi in the greenhouse. The primary reason why I chose to do this was to save seed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, in growing this variety in the greenhouse I came to really love how thin and beautiful the Tar Kakdi is. Growing a vegetable variety like this reminds me so much of why I garden. I get so much of the love of the culture for its gardens and fields when growing each indigenous cucumber or melon variety. I believe that with this particular population, the grower selected the variety for both the beauty of the flowers and also the wonderful texture of the fruit. In all the other populations I encountered, I was never experienced the same texture or stretched appearance to the fruit. This particular Tar Kakdi seemed much less like an Armenian cucumber and much more of its own cultivar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.