Bringing back the San Donato

With such a rich history in the area of San Donato di Leccese, it is a wonder that the once highly prized San Donato Meloncella required so long for me to be able to get to a point where I could share it with others. While it took a lot longer than I thought, I'm satisfied that at least progress has been made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For context, I received this variety back before 2020, when I decided to grow this polymorphic cucumber-melon. While the color of the variety exhibited a classic light with splotched form, a dark form, and a medium dark with dark splotching form, the fruit had more problems than just color. A small percentage of the initial plants I grew yielded bitter fruit. While I was able to cull out the bitter fruit and save seed from the first fruits, I was unable to save seed from the second crop - which was free of pollen from the bitter-fruited plants. Prior to the younger fruit being able to mature, the later crop succumbed to the effects of Powdery Mildew. Given the multiple factors required to remediate its deficiencies, it took several years for me to get back to the San Donato. I did, however, blog about the variety back in 2022.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of 2022, that’s when I finally got back to trying to grow the San Donato. I grew it out in a garden at the college. I would have to say that, given the 40+ hours I spent working on that plot, that it was a complete failure. That being said, I did grow out the San Donato, though not in isolation. Some garden experiences are just an experience – and that is what my San Donato plot was like when I blogged about it in 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward another two years and I finally moved the San Donato into my backyard. That was close enough for me to really perform the work on the most important concern about the San Donato – removing bitterness from the population of fruit. Given a study done in Sudan, I pursued a method of reducing the bitter traits in the population. I began with an overabundance of seedlings that I planted into the garden bed. I then tasted the leaves of each variety. The seedlings that were more bitter were culled and the rest were left until the plants grew large enough to cull again. This pattern was repeated again and again until there were 8-9 plants left. Then I began tasting the flowers and the immature fruit. If there were any bitter immature flowers or fruit on any plant, then I would pull the plant. Having tasted all the small fruit from each plant and finding none to be bitter, I then left the plants to cross-pollinate and produce whatever fruit they would. This would enable a large enough population to keep me from experiencing bottle-necks with the population the next time I grew out the San Donato.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was not able to select for fruit color this time, I was successful in doing what mattered most. Besides a little spider mite pressure, the season when relatively well. While I may not be able to return the Meloncella di San Donato to its former glory, I am grateful that I can work on it enough to be able to share it with others. On that note, you can learn more about the San Donato at Cucumber Shop’s Cucumberpedia page here. https://cucumbershop.com/the-cucummaru-de-san-donato/

The 2024 Timun Krai

It took several years for me to be able to harvest a good crop of my best Cucumis melo variety conomon. While most Asian pickling melons tend to be bitter, this striped Indonesian variety is very tasty when picked immature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The primary reason why I wanted to grow out the Timun Krai is because it produces well in a hot humid climate. There tend to be very few muskmelon varieties that tolerate those conditions and I felt that growers in places like the Southeastern United States should have the opportunity to grow something that might work in their region. That being said, I cannot say if the variety exhibits any resistance against the notorious pickleworm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most interesting things about the conomon varieties is that they have physical traits that remind the grower of both Cucumis sativus (regular cucumbers) and cylindrical Cucumis melo (muskmelons). The flowers look somewhere between sativus while the spiny stems are more reminiscent of the latter. The fruit itself is absent of spines, but also lacks the longer fuzz of the carosello or other flexuous muskmelon varieties. Instead, there are extremely short, hardly noticeable thin hairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like the Indian Ayra, the Timun Krai tends to ooze red sap in places where the fruit or vine are damaged. It can be a bit surprising to the grower is she is not acquainted with this specific characteristic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, I would definitely grow out the Timun Krai again. Compared with regular Cucumis sativus cucumbers, it is quite good. The only concern I have is that there is a slight possibility that the fruit can be bitter due to the bitterness of other varieties of the same genetic heritage.

Girl’s Garden throughout the Season

This was the second year that I grew Milkweed in the Girl’s Garden. It really took off. I had no idea that it is propagated by not only seeds, but also by root cuttings. It began to grow all over the garden!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The milkweed was one of the best plants I have grown in a while to attract pollinators. I had bees and butterflies that I normally would not see visiting specifically because of the milkweed. In the garden we also grew sweet potatoes, potatoes, some sunflowers and the beginnings of a fig tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I loved the milkweed, it does take over. I will likely be pulling out a lot of the plants this next spring as they come up. Otherwise, I felt that the girl’s garden this year was a success.