Long Shot Carosello Barese Growout

In a long-shot attempt to find a spotted carosello specimen similiar to my friend Giuseppe, I grew out the Carosello Barese in my hydrophonic basket to see if anything different occured Apparently not. This grow-out turned out to produce the same carosello cucumber variety as always.

Note: growing in poor soils or conditions in which the plants feel stressed will not produce bitter fruit. However, fruit size and shape will suffer as a result. Of all the factors that result from plant stress, I have not found that fruit color changes from plants grown in ideal conditions to those grown in less desirable conditions.

Breaking News

After looking for so long, we have found the cylindrical splotched Carosello Tarantino!

For those of you who do not really care about cucumbers, you may question, what does it really matter if my cucumber looks pretty - but for those of us who are passionate about the finest cucumbers - it is monumental to find something like this!

It has been years that I have been searching for something like this. That being said, if this variety cannot get me any closer to my desired Meloncella Faciata (a cylindrical all-dark green variety with light stripes) I will have to publicize the search with prize money until I find it.

All of my thanks does need to go to my friend Giuseppe, who has stuck with me - and trusted me - through all of our hard work and frustrating (and often delicious) failures.

Next door to the two Carosello Tarantino plants is this variety. I'm not quite sure what it is. I received this variety six years ago from Italy. I made sure to hand-pollinate all of the fruit and kept it isolated through an elaborate scheme that I am sure to discuss later. The closest relation to this would be some form of oval Mandurian Round or a Carosello Tondo Tarantino. I really can't tell.

Whatever it is the variety is not stable - meaning the color or another attribute does not remain the same from one plant to another. I harvested a few of its less colorful neighbors to try them out and, based on the flavor, I am highly impressed.

Given that the oval Carosello variety will cross with the Carosello Tarantino, I am diligently removing all of the male blossoms.

Based on the smaller very interesting blossoms of the Carosello Tarantino - which that are oval and elongated - I'm not really sure what to make of this cultivar. If we can stabilize the variety, it would be an incredible addition to the carosello varieties that we (the public) have access to.

Party Time! I'm usually pretty laid back, but given the news I decided to throw a party to celebrate. We're having the friends of my children come over to swim in our pool as well as to enjoy pizza, popsicles and technology. This may all seem quite eccentric, but if you had been working and waiting for years to find something you would celebrate too!

 

(Notice the Armenian and unknown carosello slices behind the popcorn)