English Telegraph Cucumber Experiment

One extremely popular cucumber that is very difficult to find is called the English Telegraph or sometimes also called the “Telegraph Improved”. Some of the drawbacks of this variety as a grower include the fact that it does not care much for hot weather and is extremely parthenocarpic. Because the female flowers set fruit without pollination, this makes the English Telegraph very difficult for saving seed. When I say difficult, I mean that some fruit will go from blossom to maturity without the flower opening up. This makes pollination practically impossible. Even with those flowers that do blossom, 20 seeds per fruit is an extremely high count and average counts for this variety average about 5 seeds per fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With such an abysmal outlook on the harvest, why would anyone want to try saving seeds of this variety? Because it can be grown in a greenhouse, has nice long cucumbers and, once established, is generally easy to care for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over time I have had difficulty sourcing seed for this variety, so I decided to try growing some seed for myself. In my greenhouse, I began by trying to grow some seed from three different sources including the GRIN government repository, Some from Seed Savers Exchange and few leftover seeds from the old Sustainable Seed Company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The GRIN repository variety did alright, but over time it became very apparent that the variety was not true-to-type. The cucumbers did grow, but they were a bit warty and short – nothing like the regular English Telegraph. However, they were parthenocarpic – producing fruit without pollination. After a little while, I tossed the plants. This variety failed the true-to-type requirement of my experiment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Old Sustainable Seed Company seed produced great looking straight cucumbers that – more often than not – looked just like the English Telegraph cucumber should. However, the problem was that once harvested the fruit had no seed in them. To add insult to injury, I had absolutely no seed left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, the Seed Savers Exchange English Telegraph was true-to-type, a little curved, slightly bitter and produced some seed – but none was viable. At least with the Seed Savers variety, I had a jumping off point for future grow-outs. Finally, I have the opportunity to try growing more English Telegraph cucumbers in the future.

Going Big with Bolero

For years I have had difficulty starting carrot seed. While I continue to struggle with the perfect way to start carrots, I tried a new technique this time around. I seeded and watered the bed. Then I used a white 1-yard macro bag (like those used for carrying sand) to cover the top of the bed. After a week or two, I saw little seedlings sprouting up when I lifted the bag from the bed. Given that I have never had success growing carrots in Fairfield, this was a big win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, I did overseed, so I spent quite a bit of time thinning out the seedlings. But over time, the results were worth it. We mostly ate them a little at a time until the heat kicked in. Once the temperatures started getting to around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the carrots began bolting. If you have ever had a woody carrot, you understand the importance of harvesting the root before it bolts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fortunately, we had plenty of carrots. We were able to store a couple of bags and give quite a few away. I’m always grateful for the opportunities I have to share carrots – or any of my vegetables – with others. While I don’t usually grow any kind of hybrid vegetable, I feel that this was a good way for me to start down the road of growing carrots in the area where I live. In the future, I would love to do some trials with other vigorous heirloom varieties to see if there is anything else that might work well in my climate.

Minor Biofumigation at the Fertile Garden

One of the benefits of growing Mustard Greens as a cover crop is its ability to clean the soil when tilled into the ground. When tilled into the soil, the plant material decays. As it does so, it releases volatile gasses containing chemical compounds that fumigate the soil. The term for this kind of cleaning of the soil by growing brassicas, mustard greens or radishes is called “biofumigation”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An essential component of biofumigation is to cover the plot as soon as possible after incorporating the chopped up plants into the soil. Instead of saturating the surrounding soil, the volatile gasses will dissipate if not properly covered. While using plastic is generally preferred, I decided to do what I could with a layer of paper and soil. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After chopping up the plants, I covered the debris with packaging paper and a layer of a high-quality soil blend. I made sure to water it all in well. In the end, between the off-gassing and the paper, the end result did dramatically decrease the incidence of weeds in the garden this last spring.

Raising more than just Mustard Greens

I love supporting local wildlife with flowering plants. I also love seeing some insects on my plants. It lets me know that I the plants are healthy enough for other animals to consume. However, there comes a time when enough is enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That time came for me this last winter when my Mustard plants became the breeding ground for several dozen uninhibited harlequin bugs (not pictured). By the time I was able to get to the plot, the bugs had begun multiplying. In order to deter the adults to set up camp, I came back as soon as I could – at night – and chopped down all of the plants. This left a lot of residue, but given the proliferation of bugs and the potential for the Mustard to spread seed, it was wise for me to remove the plants as quickly as possible.