The Cretan Cucumber Keeps going!

If the grower had any questions about the vigor of the Cretan cucumbermelon, it was started in March in the greenhouse and, after acclimating to the girl’s garden, it continued producing fruit all the way through August. Starting out as an early variety and producing until very late in the season is quite a feat for any cucumber variety.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fruit itself is a light green well scalloped, mildly fuzzy fruit. Very similar to the Mezzo Lungo varieties from Italy, but with a much juicier flesh and much less fuzz. Besides that, the fruit shape and length were very consistent. This is not too common in otherwise unknown varieties. The fact that both vigor and consistency were present in this one variety was very positive. Even the seed that I harvested was of very high quality. With everything going for it, I hope that the Cretan cucumbermelon will be one that I will continue growing well into the future!

The Cretan Greek Cucumbermelon

In stark contrast with the Xylangouro cucumber that I grew in the greenhouse, the Cretan cucumbermelon was an amazing and delicious variety of Cucumis melo var. chate or adzur.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The plants were vigorous, the flowers were uniform, the fruit had a nice texture and were just a joy to grow. They did so good in the greenhouse and had so much life to them, that soon after the first couple of fruit went to seed, I decided to find a place to plant them out in the garden.

Tar Kakdi vs Bacteria Wilt

 

The Tar Kakdi is a light green snake melon (Cucumis melo) that is very similar to an Armenian cucumber. The variety is picked very immature when the fruit is still young and only an inch or two in diameter. At this stage the fruit is not just tender, yet crisp – but much better than a regular Armenian cucumber. With all this being said, growing the Tar Kakdi presented a challenge for me in 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The plants started off very well and the fruits grew at a good pace. The length of the fruit was amazing and the "cool" factor was very high. Why not make things better? To ensure that my plants did well I added compost. That is where my primary mistake took place. The compost was not the expensive compost that one would pay a premium for, but city compost – with plenty of bad bacteria and disease.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was not long after putting a layer of compost on the plants that the disease began. It started with just a little bit of wilt, but quickly made its way around the garden until all of the plants were hit by it. Sometimes we have good ideas and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes you get what you pay for. And sometimes you get less than you pay for – even if it is free.