The Paesana di Soleto, Part 2

Those who have been growing a specific variety or type of crop for a number of years can sometimes be surprised when something different happens. For me, it had to do with disease and pest issues. I was anticipating that something would go wrong – that the plants would get diseased or have some other issue. Though I did utilize some preventative methods (i.e. – spraying with Sonata biofungicide) the majority of the benefits that came to the plants originated from the fava plants that I used as a cover crop between seasons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, I loved looking at the incredible fruit and flowers. I could not get enough of the abundance and beauty that the Paesana provided. Often, when actors, artists or athletes get to the top of their career, they become the recipient of public accolades. For the gardener, the farmer or any grower, the process and the result are the reward. The privileged blessing of seeing soil and seed bring forth a bounteous harvest, experiencing the miracle of life and its stages, realizing the potential that a crop can achieve. This is all that anyone who plants a seed could desire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With all that being said, some seasons cannot be long enough. While I deeply enjoyed the time with my Paesana di Soleto crop, it felt like only a moment before they were harvested and gone. Like a good meal, the parting with a relative or a good friend – parting with an especially good crop can be hard, even when the harvest is bountiful. Would I grow the Minunceddha Paesana di Soleto again? Yes I would!

The Paesana di Soleto, Part 1

After growing out the Minunceddha Paesana di Soleto in the greenhouse, I was excited to grow out the variety in the fertile garden. And the plot that I grew in was very fertile. Either because I was planning on growing my Robin Hood Fava beans to seed or because I was too busy to get around to them, I didn’t start the Paesana di Soleto until later in the season. I wasn’t able to put the plants into the ground until late June. Normally, a late start would be a big concern; but somehow leaving the fully-grown fava bean roots in the ground gave the Paesana di Soleto plants an incredible boost that continued throughout their growth. Male flowers began around the 20th of July and female flowers began appearing around the 24th. Fruit was in full production by August 1st and the entire crop was harvested by September 1st.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So – one of the things that I love about this variety is how compact the fruiting on it is. While the Tondo Barese is compact, this variety excels in production above the Tondo Barese – both in male and hermaphrodite female flowers. This may because it has been so intensely dry-cropped. The gentleman who entrusted this variety to me, Gino DiMitri, told me that the one thing he knew about the variety is that it was often grown dry-farmed, entirely without water. Given the extremely short season in which it produced a seed crop, I better understand how well suited this variety is to growing in a dry summer climate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another interesting trait of the Minunceddha Paesana di Soleto (minunceddhra refers to an indigenous muskmelon grown immature as a cucumber) is that the fruit occupies whatever space it is provided. The shiny tender-skinned fruit grows not only round or oval, but tends to take up the space that is provided it. Depending on what stems and trellises are already taking the room around the fruit female flowers, they can develop into cucumber-melons of various shapes and sizes.