The longer you garden, the more varieties of each vegetable you discover which are really to your liking and you don't want to be without. But the most fun in growing your own is experimenting with strange things that you won't find in the shops. This year I realize that most of the garden is old favourites and I'm missing that buzz. The 'Kaiser Alexander' cucumber is one of the few new trials for me and I just picked the first one. Yeee-ha! Really crunchy (like biting into a raw potato) and sweet and mild. About 7 inches long and 3+ in diametre and they apparently store for a while. I've come late to cucumbers, this is just the third year. The first time I sowed two varieties of gherkins and they were quite bitter. I read later that you shouldn't grow two different types side by each. But I came across a number of theories for bitterness. Last year I grew just one with mixed results. But this here is a winner. And therefore will probably grow it again next year...
5 comments:
That certainly is a cucumber with a difference! Where did you get the seed from?
Hello Magic
I got that from Kokopelli seeds (linked on my page). You'll find lots of things there that you won't get elsewhere. You do need a bit of patience to correlate items pictured in the book with the seeds list provided. But well worth the struggle.
I also planned to grow this one this year, but didn't get around to it.
I grew a very similar one last year and the year before, called Brown Uzbeki. Like you describe this one, it was very crunchy and had a very fresh taste. I normally grow cucumbers on my roof, and to take advantage of vertical space I stake them like tomatoes. I read somewhere recently that the Brown Uzbeki does not like to be staked, which probably accounted for my low yields.
On bitterness... I've always found this to be a problem with a lack water or weather that's too hot. The bitterness is usually worst (if memory serves me) in the blossom end. I never had any problem with bitterness in the Brown Uzbeki. I think some varieties are more resistant than others.
Mine have meandered a bit, but some in an upward direction on netting.
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