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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The perfect storm of issues: The Scopattizo di San Donato Part 2

Unfortunately, my San Donato encountered both pests and disease the rest of the season. I was constantly fighting against cucumber beetles and bacteria wilt. Only later did I learn that the bacteria wilt was caused by multiple factors. Though I assumed it was the result of just the cucumber beetles, it turned up in other gardens without the cucumber beetles. It was only then that I realized that the disease was likely also present in the compost that was provided free by the city. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Near the end of the season I had to deal with gopher or ground squirrel issues as well. By that point, I was pretty much done for the season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, the plants did pretty well. The fruit looked beautiful at times, though I didn’t eat much of it because I wanted so much to save it for seed. Unfortunately, in the end it did not matter. Some kind of genetic issue that had plagued my previous crop only multiplied in the current crop. All of the seed that I harvested were a puffed out teardrop shape and were very light. I have rarely ever seen anything like this happen before and, given that this happened twice in a row, I will likely have to acquire completely new seed before ever attempting to grow this variety again.