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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Friendlier Ethiopian Gherkin

As if the flavor and texture of the Jamacian gherkin wasn’t enough, imagine being able to grow a Cucumis anguria with much less intimidating spikes. Then the Ethiopian gherkin is for you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started the Ethiopian gherkin partway through the season in 10 inch hydroponic baskets and harvested the Jamacian gherkin prior to transplanting the 10 inch buckets. By mid- September, I pulled the Jamacian gherkins and planted out the Ethiopian gherkins. It was important that I gave them enough room and time to produce seed. The Ethiopian variety did pretty well and I harvested a few good fruit for seed prior to the season getting too late for harvest. The fruit was harvested in mid-November.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the Ethiopian gherkin, the taste, texture and minimal spikes were all very good. I just wish that the fruit were slightly darker.

The Jamaican or West Indian Burr Gherkins

The Jamaican or West Indian Burr Gherkin is the classic style of gherkin that growers are familiar with. This Cucumis anguria was apparently a favorite of Thomas Jefferson for the purpose of pickling. It tends to be resistant to most Curcubit diseases, it lasts longer into the cold part of the season than melons or regular cucumbers and the vines tend to set a large crop of fruit near the end of the season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With its spiky appearance, the fruit of the West Indian Burr Gherkin appears to tell many who come by it to leave the fruit alone. However, the fruit not only doesn’t puncture the skin, but is the flesh completely safe to eat – spikes and all. The spikes appear longest about half-way through the season. The spikes don’t grow smaller over time, but can appear smaller as the fruit fattens up around the spiky ball of a fruit.

 

 

 

While I initially didn’t care to even try growing any Cucumis anguria, I really developed a liking for them. Though they don’t look as fun as the baby watermelons called “Sanditas” or Cucamelons, they are, in my opinion, much better. The flavor, texture and general quality of the fruit is, in my opinion, much more desirable. The crisp fruit seems to be ideal for pickling. Hence the species of Cucumis anguria are often referred to as “gherkin”.

Well, that wasn’t the English Telegraph!

While the times in which we live are full of all manner of technological advances, with advancements come unintended consequences. A newer discount seed company has purchased several reputable seed companies. While I used to buy the English Telegraph from a local reputable seed company, I mistakenly decided to try purchasing the same seed from the company after it had been acquired. Unfortunately, instead of being an extremely long variety with a tapered top and slightly wrinkled skin, it looked more like a very common American variety crossed with a middle eastern cucumber.

 

 

The unintended consequence of seed company consolidation is that, though the specific variety continues to be sold under the new owners, it is only sold under the auspices of the existing seed variety name. In reality, the new company replaces the seed of the newly acquired variety with cheap bulk seed, then sells it to the existing and new customers – hoping that it is close enough to the previous variety to go unnoticed. In all aspects, the new seed company is committing fraud and lying to the consumer. This is the ongoing “quiet death” of many heirloom seed varieties.

 

 

 

In contrast, seed companies that really care do the work to select the most desirable traits in order to bring heirloom vegetable varieties back to their former glory. They go through years of work prior to releasing something that is both highly desirable and helpful for the grower.