The Zambian Gherkin

I decided to try a new kind of Cucumis anguria this last season, so I planted a USDA variety from Zambia. Like the Ethiopian variety, this variety was nearly spineless. It looked perfect for the conditions I was growing in.

 

 Gherkins usually start out as small little plants and get larger over time. If not kept in check, they can slowly take over the garden. As they are very resistant to a number of diseases, the plants themselves usually only die off after a freeze. As for the prolific fruit, it is important to make sure to pick up any stragglers as the fruit reseeds very easily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The plants grew well behind and between the other plants I was growing and I harvested plenty of fruit. And its dark color was quite beautiful. Unfortunately, there is something interesting about Gherkins. This variety, along with another one that I grew, produced plenty of fruit and seed. However, the seed did not germinate. Why exactly this happens, I don’t know, but it is pretty frustrating. I’m planning on refrigerating the seed for a while to see if I can determine if there is something about the sprouting technique that I’m missing.

Olive Orchard Tondo di Manduria, part 2

While I wasn’t able to notice any perceivable differences in the quality of the fruit or the consistency of the population of the Carosello Tondo di Manduria that I was growing at an Olive Orchard in Suisun Valley, California – over time I did start to notice something. I began to notice that I had the opportunity to select for what I have been looking for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For many years I have been looking for a consistent population of splotched Tondo di Manduria. Despite years of effort, I have never made any progress on finding a population that wasn’t highly variable in its coloring (light or light with splotches) or texture (smooth and tender or rough-textured). Because of this, I continued looking – even while growing out in the olive orchard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In spite of – and perhaps because of – my previous failures, I was able to begin recognizing clusters of plants that exhibited the desirable traits (smooth splotched fruit) that I was looking for. I began finding these clusters and labeling the fruit around the plants based on how many plants had the desirable traits. If one smooth splotched fruited plant had two plants surrounding it that had smooth splotched fruit, I would use a garden marker and put a “2” on all of the fruit of that plant. While if a smooth splotched fruited plant had 5 plants surrounding it with the desired traits, I would mark a “5” on all of the fruit of that middle plant. This is the culmination of a technique that I was just beginning to work on when growing out the Carosello Polisello back in 2016 and which I discussed in a blog post back in 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

After fighting off cucumber beetles, heat and commuting back and forth to the field to check on the progress of the crop the fruit began to mature. There are some other fun pictures that I have included of the olive orchard that I hope you enjoy including one of a Cucumis anguria (African Gherkin) I found in the field and of a katydid.