Long-shot Tondo di Manduria

In late July I started a planting of Tondo Manduria from some seed my friend Angelo provided me with in 2013. It is amazing how well his seed has germinated all these years later. In any case, my desire to get the fruit to seed was pretty futile, due to the prevalence of Powdery Mildew. By the time I got around to the plot, the disease had established itself so firmly, that there was little I could do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like all other populations of the Tondo Manduria, this variety expresses multiple phenotypes in the same population. The term we often use for this is “polymorphic”. The Tondo di Manduria generally has two expressions for vine length, fruit shape and color. The vines can be long or compact, the shape can be round or cylindrical and the color can be light or light with splotching. I personally prefer the compact vines that produce round fruit with splotching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Within this population, the vines and fruit expressed all the regular traits correlated with the commercial strains of this variety. In the end, the fruit I picked didn’t mature any further, but just began to rot – so I was forced to harvest mostly immature seeds that I had to toss.

My favorite Mezzo Lungo Barese and Polignano

After growing out an unknown carosello cucumber variety, I decided to try out a Mezzo Lungo Polignano carosello variety in the 1-yard grape bin. This variety was one that I had tried out previously in 2021. In fact, I labeled the specific population, which was provided to me by an Italian gentleman named Angelo, for a future Mezzo Lungo Polignano trial.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The context for the Mezzo Lungo Polignano name is this: In southern Italy, melons have been grown immature as cucumbers for thousands of years. Though these cucumber-melons are called by many different names, to the outside world they are known as “carosello”. A specific town or village will often grow their own specific carosello cucumber variety. In order to distinguish the variety from a carosello in another area, the name of a specific variety may include a specific trait of the cucumber, but almost always include the origin of the variety. ‘Mezzo Lungo’ means ‘half long’. That part of the variety name may have originated from being compared with length of the local ‘Tortarello’ or local snake melon. There is a Mezzo Lungo from Barese, which tends to be slightly longer and a Mezzo Lungo from Polignano, which tends to be a bit shorter. Both are known to be very fuzzy, crisp cylindrical cucumber varieties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fuzzy fruit is the primary reason why I had made a note to grow the specific population of Mezzo Lungo from Angelo again. This population, which was named variety #3, sprouted well. In order to give the unknown variety more time to mature, I started the Mezzo Lungo Polignano seedlings in ten inch hydroponic baskets until they were large enough to require planting into the garden. They grew very well and matured quickly. They began setting fruit in early August and by late August, the fruit varied from being ready for fresh-eating to ripe for seed-saving. Unfortunately, there was a bit of variation in fruit color and length. But the color variation was rare and I eliminated as much of that fruit as I could. On the positive side, the fuzziness was quite thick and pronounced, the fruit was crisp, but much juicier than any other Mezzo Lungo varieties that I have tried. For a Mezzo Lungo, the flavor was quite good too. As a result, I decided that this population will become the foundation for my future Mezzo Lungo Polignano (short) and Mezzo Lungo Barese (long) carosello varieties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite all of my faults and mistakes, I am grateful that I can try out different carosello varieties. Even different populations of the same variety – provided to me by various growers and seed companies – enable me to determine what fruit would be most desirable for market growers. Though there are many wonderful and unique indigenous and heirloom vegetable varieties, very few will continue to be grown or shared if they do not perform well or taste good.

The Unknown Carosello

One of the things I like doing when gardening is giving cucumber varieties a second chance. Back in 2018 I grew an unknown carosello cucumber variety. It was oval and ranged from being very dark to quite light. I didn’t know what to think of it then, but I do remember it tasting pretty good. With all that in mind, I decided to give the variety another try at a new plot that I had set up in a 1-yard grape bin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The grape bin setup worked beautifully. I filled it up with some professional soil mix, set up the soaker hoses and timers, then added the transplants. I had to start over though – due to the unseasonably cool weather that we had this year. I had to plant both in early and late May. My late May planting was just sprouted seeds, as I didn’t want to bother with transplants just to have them killed by the cold again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The vines grew quicky and well – without any problems. When the fruit was old enough to taste, I tried some out and was not impressed with the flavor as I had been before. Was the flavor better in 2018 or was I only comparing it to the Spuredda Taratino, which has one of the worst flavors and textures of any cucumber-melon that I have tasted? I cannot exactly say, but with a sub-par flavor, an unknown name and large variations in color and flavor, I decided that I would not continue growing this variety. Out of obligations previously agreed-upon by myself and the household owner, I saved seeds from the oldest fruit and took out everything else. Then I replanted the next crop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite this crop not working out as I would have preferred, I am glad that I tried and found out what I did. For me, much of gardening is unknown. While I can guess on what could be the likely outcome of any course of action, there is so much uncertainty - unless I can control all the variables. Attempting to remove all the variables often leads to unintended negative consequences. Similar to life, it is much better to spend my energy doing what I can and then stand back and appreciate the weather and conditions, come what may.