Radiant Heating in the Winter

Though I have been gardening but a few years, as I have been doing so I have noticed that the climate here in Tucson is warmer than the catalogues that said “Zone 8” on them stated. Other than last winter when we had an unseasonably cold 15 degree Fahrenheit Temperatures (and all of Tucson was having their non-insulated pipes break) the temperature usually only dips near freezing at night for a couple of weeks. Given what I have experienced the last couple of years it is about time the USDA changed their map to better reflect more recent climate trends.

Given the unseasonably warm weather this year and finding that the weather forecast had no chance of freezing any time soon, I decided to transplant three of my tomato sets into the summer garden to see if I could get a jump on the season. I set out two of the plants with plastic around them to heat up the ground and the third I did not cover, but just set a milk gallon jug full of water next to it. The sun is now coming up before 7:30 so it should be warming up, right?



Left plant-was covered, Middle Plant-covered, Right plant-no covering.


Wrong. Just the other morning I found that the cold had really nipped at a couple of my tomato plants. So I cut them back. Then I noticed something else. The plant with the water next to it had no effects from the freezing while the other two did. I have noticed in the past that little tents or conches do little to stave off the effects of freezing and I have noticed that clear or opaque water containers help tomato plants from freezing but I have never seen this so clearly demonstrated. The practical science behind this is that the water bottle absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night. The more water in containers, the more balanced temperature should remain.

For future reference - I will definitely make use of soda pop bottles and milk bottles (filled with water) to get an early start on the season. I’m glad that I could make this mistake so that others (and hopefully I) can learn from it.

The Painted Serpent Cucumber

Painted Serpent plant growing in a pot lowered in the ground

Imagine a succulent hothouse cucumber just brought from the grocery store. Envision that cucumber with a tender, slightly fuzzy yet edible rind. Enter the Painted Serpent Cucumber. This beautiful dark and light striped cucumber is not that good for shipping purposes but is definitely worth buying if you stumble upon it at a farmer’s market. In almost every way – except botanically speaking – this cucumber is the polar opposite of the regular Armenian cucumber. Many people call it an Armenian cucumber because it is a C. melo and can easily cross with a regular Armenian cucumber. Though cross-pollination with its better known cousin is possible, it differs from the regular Armenian cucumber in growth pattern, disease resistance, soil fertility, taste, and in how the cucumber looks.

Armenian, Painted Serpent (Longest) and Yamato Cucumber



The first thing you notice when growing this variety is that it grows slowly. 80-90 days can be a very long time to wait to see your first cucumber. It requires a long season and can take a while before you see your first female cucumber flower. So be patient – it will be worth it. On the other hand, disease resistance for this variety is phenomenal. It can often resist the powdery mildew and mosaic virus that plague other melon varieties. No melon variety is bullet proof, but this one can be exposed to a lot of diseases without succumbing to them. This cucumber variety requires much more fertile soil than its light-colored counterpart and will reward you well if you will consider saving a patch of well-composted dark soil for it.

Painted Serpent Cucumbers behind the regular Armenian

 

The taste of this variety is incredible. The closest thing I could relate to it is something between cucumber and pure water. The texture is crisp, yet tender and smooth. Dark and light green stripes decorate the rind and it tends to grow very long before plumping out. The beauty of this variety definitely place it in the specialty category. If you do not see it in gourmet restaurants take comfort in the fact that you can grow something more delicious and fancy straight from your garden.




Painted Serpent cucumber growing in a pot set into the ground

The fuzz factor on this variety is slight to mild. Not as much as some other cucumber-melon varieties but definitely more than the regular Armenian cucumber.

When mature, Painted Serpent Cucumbers exhibit minimal fuzz.

Do not let the season length keep you from growing this variety. Plant some regular Armenian cucumbers next to this variety and don’t let the regular Armenian vines shade out the Painted Serpent. When the regular Armenians start dying out this variety will begin pumping out the fruit. (When doing this for seed saving, cut back the regular Armenian cucumbers as soon as you see the first Painted Serpent female flower). 

Sliced Painted Serpent Cucumber

If you take good care of your Painted Serpent cucumber vines the total amount of fruit throughout the season should be comparable to that of the regular Armenian cucumber and, in my opinion, even more delicious!


More Painted Serpent Cucumber Slices

This mature cucumber will produce lots of seeds.

Update: I now sell this, and many other varieties like the Painted Serpent Cucumber at Cucumbershop.com.

My son in front of my garden with a Painted Serpent Cucumber.

Thinning my Carrots



Though it may be sad - I do thin carrots

Carrots do not always come up evenly and can often be frustrating to grow because of the gaps in seedlings if spaced correctly without thinning. Additionally, some seedlings come up weak and need to be pulled out to keep from causing problems for future populations of carrots. Thinning enables strong, vigorous plants to continue growing into future generations while eliminating the less desirous ones. At times I do transplant thinned out seedlings, if I have room for them. Though root crops – such as carrots – do not adjust to transplanting as well as other crops, such as lettuce. If you want to thin and transplant and would like to keep plants from going into shock I would advise doing so on a cool, humid, or wind-free day. Though we can sometimes get attached to our seedlings, they often grow better as a group when we give them the space they need to thrive.


The Armenian Cucumber



Ready to remove seeds of fully grown Armenian Cucumber

Should you say the words “Armenian Cucumber” to gardeners in Tucson you usually get one of two responses. Either they love it or they hate it. And if they hate it this is often because they pick it when it is too big. The Armenian cucumber is the “zucchini” of the melon family. As the cucumber grows its flesh turns from a tender zucchini-cucumber taste to something reminiscent of the crunch of a carrot and the taste of a watermelon rind. It has a light green color and smooth skin that can be eaten raw and has furrowing (or ridging) along the length of the cucumber. Though it is botanically a melon (C. melo) like a cantaloupe or a honeydew it is used like a cucumber because it tastes like one when it is the size of one.

A young Tender Armenian Cucumber

So why do people grow the Armenian Cucumber instead of other cucumber varieties? Well, for several reasons. For the amount of space you can just grow more and faster. The Armenian cucumber vine pumps out the fruit. Additionally it is quick. Although other cucumber varieties boast 60 days or less I have never had any cucumber variety that can go from seed to cucumber faster than the regular light Armenian cucumber. They simply set fruit very early on the vine. Yet another reason to grow these is that they do incredibly well tolerating both poor soils and extreme heat.

Armenian Cucumbers are Prolific!

So with so many benefits, why doesn’t everyone grow Armenian cucumbers? For starters the texture is just not the same as a regular cucumber. Though the taste is like a cucumber the texture is much more like a zucchini. The second reason why many people don’t grow this variety is because of the disease issues. The regular Armenian cucumber is much like a firework. It shoots out fruit quickly and prolifically but is incredibly susceptible to cucumber mosaic virus and powdery mildew. It is so good at carrying these diseases that it will often infect all neighboring cucumbers (regular or melon varieties) once the disease is caught. The last reason why gardeners choose not to grow the Armenian cucumber is that if you miss one cucumber it will become gargantuan almost overnight. If your saving seeds, a fat seedy cucumber is what you want, but if your purpose is only to eat the cucumbers you will find that overlooking a cucumber often causes the plant to start dying (from putting all its energy into seed production) and the resulting fruit will probably not taste as good as the mouth watering cuke you desired.



Palatable cucumbers are picked when not too thick

This is the perfect size for eating.

The best way to judge if the cucumber is to judge it by the thickness. It should be a little thinner then a large grocery store cucumber. Start by putting your thumb and index finger around it.  If you cannot touch the other side it is too big, if you can just touch the other side you had better pick the cucumber before it is too late!

There is something I have noticed about all of these melon varieties that I have grown. I call it the “fuzz factor”. Small soft fuzz covers the prospective cucumber and, once pollinated, may decrease or increase as the cucumber grows. The regular Armenian cucumber has a bit of peach fuzz to begin with but is unnoticeable once the cucumber grows.

Notice - Minimal Fuzz Factor

As a gardener there are some things that just really bug me. I have a real issue with seed companies that mislabel their product. One can either excuse a seed company for this ignorance or they can perceive it as intentional deceit and false advertising, used to lead customers to buy something that they do not want. The two seed packages below are perfect examples. Once grown out, they looked exactly like the regular light pea-green Armenian cucumbers that I have always grown in color, texture, and furrows (just like the pictures above). Additionally, the misleading packaging from Bavicchi called “Tortarello Abruzzese” truly looks like something between a regular Armenian cucumber and the Armenian cucumber variety known as “Painted Serpent”. Perhaps I will try another “Tortarello Abruzzese” if anyone can send me seed of a cucumber that fits the picture shown below.

Nice Pictures - but these turned out to be Normal Armenian Cucumbers

So, in short, Armenian cucumbers are a good thing, and most likely a cucumber of the future. There are other strains of melon varieties that I have grown that have completely different merits from the regular Armenian I have discussed here. So if you love cucumbers just think – there may be an Armenian variety out there for you.

Update: If you are interested in growing any Armenian cucumbers or related cucumbers - such as the Carosello, please see my blog's sample seed shop at Cucumbershop.com.

The Armenian Cucumber: AKA: Tortarello Chiaro or Tortarello Abruzzese

If you like Armenian cucumbers, you'll love growing the striped carosello Leccese.

Monstrous Viroflay Spinach



Monstruex de Viroflay Spinach leaves grow pretty large.

 Whilst looking for good varieties of leafy greens that might do well in Arizona I happened upon a company called Condor Seeds. They are based out of Yuma, Arizona - which happens to be in Yuma County, the “Winter Salad Bowl Capital” of the U.S. With this knowledge I began scanning Condor seeds’ website until I found what I was looking for. The company happens to sell only one kind of spinach, which just happens to be open-pollinated. So what did I do? I waited and looked around at seed racks in my area until I found the exact same spinach variety as sold by Condor Seeds - Monstrueux de Viroflay. This translates into “Monsterous Viroflay” spinach – Viroflay is a city in France.

My first crop of Viroflay Spinach in January.



2nd Harvest of Viroflay (March) - the yogurt cup is for bugs



So far this winter variety this giant French Spinach has done rather well. I have had disease and growth problems with spinach in the past, but so far so good. Not all leaves are huge, but given adequate spacing I see how this spinach could be very beneficial in supplying both a baby spinach crop during thinning and a heavier large-leaf crop during final harvest. This variety tends to not become bitter even when temperatures get up to 90 degrees - though they may bolt. This means for an Arizona climate this winter crop can be extended into March or April. These fine leafy beasties are fit for a cool crisp salad or a hearty spinach lasagna.

A delicious Spinach Lasagna made by my loving wife.