Another Odd Ball Cucumber

[tedln]

I recently posted this photo of a weird cucumber which seems to be a cross between my Armenian cukes and my normal cukes.

[img]https://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll308/tedln/2010%20Garden/IMG_2277.jpg[/img]

After I posted the photo, my wife and I left for a ten day trip to Colorado. When we returned, the same cucumber previously posted, looks like this.

[img]https://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll308/tedln/2010%20Garden/IMG_2426.jpg[/img]

Here it is between some oversized yellow squash and normal yellow squash.

[img]https://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll308/tedln/2010%20Garden/IMG_2427.jpg[/img]

The cucumber is fourteen inches long and fifteen inches in circumference.

Ted

[sheeshshe]

wowza! LOL! that thing got huge huh?

I like how you have no weeds.

[applestar]

Remember, Armenian cucumber is related to melons and will cross with them. Could your plant be from a cross-pollinated fruit/seed? Did you taste it?

[kgall]

Yeah...How did it taste?

[LindsayArthurRTR]

LOL! That is CRAZY!!! We just planted Armenian yardlong cukes! I hope they don't get that big!!!

[tedln]

These cucumbers were planted as the normal "yard long" Armenian cucumbers. They were planted in the same bed with normal cucumbers. All the seed was purchased. The Armenian vines produced their yard long cucumbers for a long time and suddenly started producing the monster cucumbers. I don't know why, but they seem to have been pollinated from the normal cucumbers. That shouldn't happen until the second generation after cross pollination. I haven't eaten it. I have one just like it growing on another vine which isn't quite as large, but is still growing. I think the seeds in the large one are developed too well for it to be a good eating cucumber. I did eat one earlier which tasted normal. These cukes are unusual because they have the shape of normal cucumbers, but are light green in color with some ridging like the Armenians.

Applestar,

I think all cucumbers except the gherkins are essentially unripe melons. I have found really large mature normal cucumbers when I was cleaning the garden in the fall. When I tasted them, they were sweet like some form of melon. Their taste was very similar to a honey dew melon.

Ted

[crobi13]

WOW! That thing is HUGE!!

[jal_ut]

This is interesting. That is about all I can say about it.

[LindsayArthurRTR]

You think the plant is putting out larger tougher fruits to have a better shot at ripening it's seeds? Same plant, different fruits, right?

[tedln]

You think the plant is putting out larger tougher fruits to have a better shot at ripening it's seeds? Same plant, different fruits, right?

Yep, same plant different fruits. Your guess about the reason is as good as any thoughts I have. I don't know if plants like cucumbers have the ability to change their fruit so drastically in order to enhance their reproductive probability. I've never seen it in cucumbers before. My thoughts about first generation cross pollination are basically impossible so your thoughts are as good as mine.

The size of my cucumbers is apparently not as unique as I thought. The following link is to a blog where the author discusses the large fruit.

https://www.teaandfood.com/2009/11/armenian-cucumber-cucumber-or-alien.html

Ted

[FieldofFlowers]

This is interesting. That is about all I can say about it.

Ditto. I learn something every day. Cucumbers related to melons and cross-breeding. That's something I'll have to think about. Just like summer squash and winter squash being related.

About unusual sizes and shapes, I have a whole bag of cukes, several which are deformed in some way or another.

[garden5]

I, too, have found that some cucumbers, if you let them go long enough, will get absolutely huge. I saw one that dwarfed my zucchini....actually, I thought it was a zucchini!

[tedln]

This is interesting. That is about all I can say about it.

Ditto. I learn something every day. Cucumbers related to melons and cross-breeding. That's something I'll have to think about. Just like summer squash and winter squash being related.

About unusual sizes and shapes, I have a whole bag of cukes, several which are deformed in some way or another.

For some reason, cucumbers have a tendency to deform while growing. Many of my early season cucumbers are normal except they grow in the shape of an L or a hook. That is a result of an insect sting in the skin of the fruit where the deformity starts. Many times cucumbers will be large on one end and then stop expanding on the other end. That is usually a result of a weather heat shift from cool to hot or a moisture shift from moist to dry. Often part of the bloom on the fruit is damaged by an insect before pollination resulting in a deformed fruit. If it looks okay, I eat it. If it doesn't look okay, I give it to my dog or throw it in the compost pile.

Ted

[LindsayArthurRTR]

I really hope mine don't get that ridiculous

[tedln]

Ridiculous is only in the mind of the observer. To me it looks like a whole lot of goodness. I'll let you know tomorrow. I plan on buying some yogurt, removing the seeds from the cuke and making a yogurt/dill, cucumber salad with it.

Ted

[nicro]

I really like your set up!

[The Helpful Gardener]

Melon flavored cukes sounds like nothing but good to me...

I'm thinking a yogurt based soup, maybe?

YUM!

HG

[Dixana]

I would really like this yogurt/9ucumber salad recipe! It sounds yummy AND healthy.

[tedln]

I really like your set up!

nicro, if you are talking to me, thank you. I am curious how much of my "set up" you have seen. Since you are new to the forum, allow me to say welcome, welcome, welcome. I hope you enjoy your time on the forum and teach us a little about gardening as you learn a little from us.

Ted

[tedln]

I would really like this yogurt/9ucumber salad recipe! It sounds yummy AND healthy.

I haven't written the recipe yet. I have looked at a few recipes on the internet using those ingredients, but none of them seemed balanced for my taste buds. It does sound like a good flavor combination though. The over sized cucumber is currently in the refrigerator cooling as it awaits its yogurt and dill destiny.

Ted

[stella1751]

Tedlin, you should save some seeds and see what it produces next year. What if this oddball produces true? What if this is some sort of a weird mutation, the Meloncuke or, even better, the Tedlin? People will be beating a path through your garden to grow a melon-tasting monster cucumber!

[tedln]

Okay Dixana, I ate 1/2 of the cucumber this evening. I cut it in half and the inside was similar to a cantaloupe. It had a fully developed seed cavity full of seeds which were easily removed with a spoon (I am saving seed for next year). I removed the skin with a knife and cut the fruit into 1/2" chunks. I wanted some plain yogurt, but the store only had multiple fruit flavors and vanilla. I used a single small cup of the vanilla yogurt. I added some dried dill and basil and allowed the mixture to marinate for about two hours in the refrigerator. It was great. The vanilla flavor didn't interfere with the dill and basil, but it did add a sweetness to the salad.

I have another giant cucumber on a different vine which I plan to leave until it matures or ripens. I want to see if it will develop a sweet melon flavor.

This is one of the primary reasons I garden. I love it when I get something totally unexpected.

Ted

[LindsayArthurRTR]

One of the reasons I picked Armenian cukes is because it says they have a flavor and texture similar to honeydew. Did you find that to be true with your Armenian cukes, Ted?

[tedln]

In color and texture, it was very much like a honeydew Lindsay. I think it would have been a sweet melon had I let it ripen more. I simply didn't know what to do with it thinking of it as a cucumber. When I cut it, it cut like a melon with the seed filled hollow center. My wife wasn't so sure about it. She didn't know if she was about to eat a bad cucumber. She was pleasantly surprised at both the texture and taste.

Ted

[tedln]

I think the odd size and shape of my Armenian cucumber is heat related. It seems the Armenians grown in cooler climates develop normally into long, skinny cucumbers. When grown in very hot weather, they seem to develop more as a melon. I had one when we returned from vacation that was large and bulbous on both ends and skinny and ridged in the middle. The large ends corresponded to growth in really hot weather. The skinny center of the cucumber corresponded to a short, wet, cool spell we had during it's development. Just a guess, but I can't think of any other reason for it's odd development.

Ted

[stella1751]

Tedlin,

While researching something completely different this morning, I found your Armenian cucumber, which is actually a melon called "Serpent Melon." Given your love of food preparation, I thought you'd get a kick out of this old-fashion eating, er, [url=https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/melons30.html#ser]drinking[/url] method.

I also found a cool cross-pollination guide you might find interesting, if you can figure out how it works. (I can't.) Your Armenians are [url=https://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/87-043.htm]Table F.[/url]

[jal_ut]

I have grown Armenian cukes before. They usually have a curled fruit in the shape of a C. I suppose this one grew straight because it was hanging. It should be just fine. It is the right color for an Armenian. It is a bit large though, try picking them a bit smaller. Well....... that is if you want them for eating, instead of show. Armenians are good eating cukes and never a burp in them. They have a mild cucumber flavor, even if they are a squash. Enjoy!

[tedln]

I ate my huge Armenian the other day (It actually took two days with two people eating it) in a yogurt/cucumber salad. I have two more on the vines approaching the same size as the previous. I'm going to let one mature on the vine and see if it becomes a sweet melon.

They are going through an identity crisis since they have now been identified in this thread as cucumbers, melons, and now squash. Now they will probably grow hair and become mammals. If they do, I can always bar-b-que them.



Ted

[stella1751]

They are going through an identity crisis since they have now been identified in this thread as cucumbers, melons, and now squash. Now they will probably grow hair and become mammals. If they do, I can always bar-b-que them.



Ted

[url=https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mv056]It's a melon.[/url] All the .edu and .gov sites I've checked agree that it's actually a melon.

[tedln]

Stella,

I agree. I loved the site you posted. Lots of ideas. The melon liquor would be similar to the Courgette or vegetable marrow liquor they produce in the United Kingdom. I sure wish I was a drinker, I would give it a try.

Ted