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The fruit is not poisonous. I have no idea about the leaves. I do know that the diuretic effects can be very severe with dogs and small children, so it is worth eating the dark fruit with caution.

How heavy and hard are the seeds once they are dry?

@@CucumberShop They don't seem to be very heavy. Cucumber seeds always seem kind of thin anyway. I put them under my grow light after drying on the paper towel in the kitchen for a day or so and they get good and dry.

@@IAMGiftbearer I only ask because if they do not have enough substance to them, they will not germinate successfully.

For selling at a farmer's market?

It tastes like a cucumber, but bitter-free and gentle on the digestion. Pretty juicy too. I picked one the other day and would like to do a video on the flavor as soon as my numbness wears off from some recent dental work.

Like cucumbers, but bitter-free, easy on the digestion and with a crisp yet tender texture.

Mine is getting cucumber beetles. I am getting ready to spray with neem oil.

@@IAMGiftbearer ah shoot 😔 I have cantelope growing with these and the beetles LOVE the melons. Mayne they just habe something close by they lobe more. They don't bother with my China Jade

I'm very sorry to hear that. Where are you growing it, what are your growing conditions and what company did you purchase it from?

@@CucumberShop I got them from Baker Creek. They are in a raised bed. The next plant over is a slicing cucumber that isn’t bitter at all. We’ve tried 3 Monika’s so far. Do you know if pickling them will cover the bitterness?

@@anonanon1982 Possibly. So, bitterness in Cucumis sativus cucumbers is partially due to genetics of each variety and partially due to plant stress. Plants grown in containers are much more prone to stress than those grown in-ground. Excessive heat is likely a factor, especially if the plant is anywhere near the side of the container. You could pickle them. I would peel the skin off and slice them up, then soak them in a saltwater brine. In the future, you can completely avoid bitterness by growing melons that are picked immature as cucumbers, like snake melons and carosello cucumbers.

@@CucumberShop Thanks for these tips. I have 4 plants of Monika. So far we have only tasted the fruit of one so hopefully we just got a random bad seed. The reviews on Baker Creek are good for this variety.

@@anonanon1982 I've grown it before myself, but last year was quite mild and I grew it indoors.

There are a number of companies that sell this variety. It is very likely that the seed you purchased your cucumbers from is mearly purchasing seed in bulk and reselling it. What company did you purchase your seed from?

@@CucumberShop I bought a seedling from Bomgaars.

@@FREEFILMSALEX I hope that you enjoy the flavor, texture and quality of those Walmart cucumbers then.

Grazie per le tue parole molto gentili Adoro il carosello e i miei amici italiani. Spero di poter visitare il prossimo anno o due.

@@CucumberShopSperiamo tu possa venire a trovarci prestissimo, un abbraccio

I'm so sorry to hear that they died. Were you growing any cucumber-melon varieties? I'll let you know when the seeds are ready. I have another variety, the Ayra, that is the most heat loving of them all.

@@CucumberShop I don't think I was. I had gherkin, burpless, and yellow lemon. The heat and humidity is just that bad. My meriggolds got fried too. But its all good because I'm learning as I go. Can the Ayra handle humidity too?

I don't think it was bred for that. It comes from the desert area of Rajasthan, India.

@@CucumberShop Ah. Ya the Ayra wont make it here. But I am excited to try the tumin Krai!

What type of Barese? Where did you get the seeds? If it is cylindrical, pick when the fruit is about 1.5-2" in diameter. If it is round, pick when about 3-4" in diameter. This is a general guide.

@@CucumberShop I got them from Totally Tomatoes. It's the only Barese they carry so you can look it up. They only have one photo. I saw those last year and knew nothing about them. Just liked that they were ribbed and a light green color so I added them to my cart. I didn't even know they were a bush type so I put them on a trellis they have not gone up yet like my luffa has.

Yeah. So, it sounds like it may be a Mezzo Lungo di Barese, but knowing Totally Tomatoes, they probably have no idea what the plant looks like, as they are just a reseller. You are welcome to send me a picture, if you would like any further information. You can find my email at CucumberShop.com

@@CucumberShop Ok thanks. I'll probably do that later on. I appreciate the help.

I can't remember if I did or not, but if they taste like the Mezzo Lungo di Polignano, then they'll be pretty good.

What company did you purchase them from? Parthenocarpic means that the female flowers will set even without pollination. Gynoecious cucumber plants produce only female flowers. English Telegraph cucumbers are only parthenocarpic, meaning that they will produce male flowers. The True Leaf English Telegraph are not English Telegraph, but some other substitute variety.

@@CucumberShop I got them from Botanical Interests online. They've proved reliable in the past. It definitely could be a failure to properly care for them though, this is my first time trying out cucumbers, I've only ever done tomatoes, peppers, and basil so far. Thanks for the hasty reply by the way!

Okay. Let me first preface your question with the fact that most seed companies that sell the Carosello Barese have no idea what they are selling. Ask Italians what the Carosello Barese is and they may be a bit confused. Different seed companies sell it as anything from round to cylindrical, bushy to vining, and nearly hairless to extremely hairy. The best way to consider it is that it grows like a zucchini, but with multiple vines. Based on your question, you should be able to harvest your first crop of 1.5-2 inch wide (pick by diameter and not by length) fruit in the crown of the plant. After the first harvest, you should expect the plant to begin vining. You can then trellis. Trust me when I say that 99%+ of companies that sell any kind of carosello seed are reselling seed of something they know nothing about. Best Wishes! -Jay from Cucumber Shop

@@CucumberShop Thanks for the info. Mine already has male flowers at the base. I had planted it directly in the ground near my trellis that has luffas and gourds. I did not know it would mostly be a bush.

Thanks!

@@CucumberShop you're welcome 😁

And thank you for the comment! 🙂

@@CucumberShopToo much work! I'll just buy ready-to-eat cucumbers at Walmart. No maintenance necessary.

The optimal variety that would best meet those requirements is an Indonesian variety called "Timun Krai". It has the added benefit of doing well in humidity. I'm currently growing that cultivar out to seed, and should have it available by the day after Thanksgiving. Another good possibility is a variety that would mature and produce fruit quickly, such as the heat-loving Carosello Leccese Bianco (AKA Light Carosello Leccese). While no variety that I know of is bulletproof against pickleworms, the Timun Krai may have some resistance to this pest as well.

@@CucumberShop Thank you so much! Please let me know when your seeds are ready for purchase. How much will they be?

@@allfruit Thank you for asking. I'm not sure. Not overly expensive, but I do spend hundreds of dollars on high quality soil each year, so I do need to charge money so that I can keep growing cucumbers. Until then the light Leccese is definitely worth trying out. They are bitter-free and easy on the digestion.

The English Telegraph cucumber is a variety that, even though is marketed by one US company, is not actually commercially available in the United States or England. Because of this, if I am unable to harvest seed in this trial, I will lose at least one of the populations that I am currently growing. One of the varieties that I'm trialing is from a company that is no longer in business. This is a variety that was very popular with gardeners because they are able to produce high quality fruit without concern for pollination.

When they are about 1-1.5 inches in diameter. Unlike the Light Armenian cucumber, which is often picked between 1.5-2.5 inches in diameter, Indians tend to enjoy the Tar Kakdi quite thin. Having tasted this variety when younger, I understand why.

Thank you so much for the information!

Some might. We'll see. The really chewed up ones will probably slowly die. 😕

Yes, I misspoke in this video. I understand that the person who developed this variety was Israeli. However, if you were to ask most Americans what kind of cucumber this was they would say that it was Lebanese or snack cucumber, because it is marketed as such. The majority of my viewers are from the United States. I have developed several varieties of cucumber myself, through selection. However, I do not take credit for where are the seeds came from nor do I say that these varieties that I named are mine. If you would like, you are welcome to lobby Washington DC to change how the industry markets the Beit Alpha cucumber and have the label on packaging state that it was developed in Israel.

Producing soil blocks can be difficult enough to do even with a pre-made mix. I would not encourage anyone to start soil blocking unless they had a lot of time to learn or money to just purchase a pre-made mix. If the grower can figure out that they have a good healthy mix and knows how to block the soil well, the rest should follow. As seedlings grow in the soil blocks, their roots expand to take up the entire soil block. The ideal time to transplant is when the Roots come to the end of the block and have not yet attempted to cross over into their neighboring blocks. The larger the roots of the transplant, the better the block is held together and the less chance it will fall apart when being transplanted out into the garden. Using soil blocks is not a 100% method for success. Sometimes in the process of transplanting they fall apart because of the materials used, moisture level, or user error. Sometimes even soil blocks will experience a slight amount of root shock after being transplanted. Overall, the work and time required for soil blocking is more than compensated by being able to start plants earlier or have transplants ready to plant the moment after another crop is removed from a plot.

@@CucumberShop Thanks for sharing your insights and all of these details. I thought soil blocking might be a solution to some of my seed starting challenges but I think I may have to find other solutions for now. I appreciate your generosity with your expertise. 🙏🏾

@@ofrecentvintage I believe that it is the very best solution for starting transplants early, but it does require time and effort to learn. Though expensive, the larger Swiftblockers greatly reduce the time and effort required to make soil blocks easy and quickly.

Thanks for the question of containers and planting multiple plants per pot. Containers are a difficult subject. I would not plant multiple plants per container unless the container was at least 10 gallons or more. I only grow in smaller containers when I'm testing something out or growing in my greenhouse. Otherwise, my smallest plot is a 1 cubic yard grape harvest bin. This is because cucumbers, though they don't strip fertility from the soil as extensively as tomato vines, do require a lot of soil. Additionally, the roots of most vegetables are sensitive to the sides of the pot being cooked by the sun in our above 90 degree Fahrenheit days. With all this, if I was serious about growing cucumbers, I would want a container as big as possible. If not, at least sheltering the sides of the pot from direct sun (while still providing full sun to the actual plant) is preferable.

@@CucumberShop Thank you for such a thorough answer. I appreciate it. Going to have to jot these points in my garden journal. One plant it is!

I'm very sorry. If you ordered from me, I still have plenty of that seed available. However, it is not the right type. If you would like some of last year's English Telegraph, please send me an email through the email listed at Cucumber Shop and we'll figure something out. Here's the video that explains why I chose to pull last year's English Telegraph: th-cam.com/video/wkddJ09YbBM/w-d-xo.html

Hi there Iaia! Wow. I don't hear too much about Amici dell'orto except what Angelo posts. That's very nice of him you want to visit. I used to live in Tucson but now I live in Fairfield, California. I don't have a lot of room, but I suppose he could come visit. I do sell seeds in person and could show him around.

Yes. It definitely can, though your first crop of fruit will likely cluster in the crown of the vine.

You can pick them bigger, but they are better when young.

Thank you for subscribing. I hope you'll discover some cucumber varieties that you've never heard of before. 🙂

They are the lower half of a deli cup with the bottom cut out. Their purpose is as plant collars to create a physical barrier between the seedlings and insects, slugs etc.

Sure. You can eat them immature if you like until they are too big or old.