As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
When I was a child, it seemed those cucumbers grew by the bushel basket and were the only things that ever grew. Now it is a reality that I was fortunate if I could get one to eat.
I have learned that at least for my niche of the world that the Russian types of fruits for some reason grow well. Russians are not known for caring about things and their horrific climate tends to weed out the bad.
In stating that, I have tried Glenn Drowns of Sand Hill, Russian varieties with not much fortune. It was to the point that I had about given up on them, when I located one in Seed Savers a few years ago that I was moved to try. This was a great leap for me, as they are Obama voter and raised their prices to 3 bucks a packet and I am not in any riches or tolerance for liberals who are non profit and live in luxury.
The cucumber is called Russian Pickling. It actually is from Hutchinson County, South Dakota, which is in the southern part of that state, and comes from the Black Sea Germans, or the Crimeans who fled Russia when the Czar tried throwing those Germans into the army to die, after the previous Czar lured Israelite Germans to Russia with free land to develop.
The rest of the Germans were exterminated in Russia by Stalin, so thus ends another German Holocaust no one gives a damn about.
I tried this cucumber and I have two criteria in they must grow in producing cucumbers and then must not be bitter from lack of watering. This German cuke does well on both counts. Granted I am not getting bushels of cukes, but I get more than enough to eat fresh and pickle, with the reality that I have never had these cukes go bitter no matter the drought, and as a bonus, I do not burp them.
The Lemon cukes of Australia are very good for this too in great production with never being bitter. I have tried the apples and potatoe cukes and they were both God awful in being bitter and no production.
So for that reason I offer up this variety as it grows, I have saved a pile of seeds from it in they mature well, and they sprout well in cool conditions too. It really is good fruit.
The flavor is not overwhelming either. They do have a nice crunch and do pretty good as pickles too.
I have no idea how it would do in Texas or South Carolina, but it does seem to behave well in most other regions of America. My main problem is I lose cukes on the vine in they do set fast, and I never realize fruits are there until I see these orange brown old cucumbers ripening there. That though is for seed.
Oh in addition, if you are looking for fresh slicing cucumbers and live in a moderately warm location, those Armenian melons go wild in production. I noticed this year that they are really good rooster melons too in my Petit Gres and Farm Woman muskmelons are both producing oblong melons this year, in response to being pollinated last year by the Armenian. This is acceptable if they would produce a bounty of melons......which they are not, and I will not know how they taste until later this year. It is though something that from God's crosses, perhaps I will get it to stabilize for a new variety to appear some year.
I always wanted a melon which produced fruit like a weedy cucumber.
That about wraps up this review.
agtG
