Plants On Deck

Cucumbers are here, dear readers!

Any worries about planting three Spacemasters (pictured, top) to one 5-gallon(ish) tub have been allayed (for now). Several farmstand-worthy cukes have already been produced and several others are busy ripening.  Burpee kindly included a packet of “free” White Wonder (pictured, lower right) heirloom seeds in POD’s ridiculously large seed order and they’re looking pretty darn good, too. And finally, Seeds of Change’s Adam F-1 (pictured, left) is going nuts. Absolutely nuts. It seems to be the thirstiest of the bunch, but the sucker’s fruiting like bunnies.

And so, a taste test is in order. The Spacemasters scream CUCUMBER — which is to stay, the dark, thick-skinned, 7-8″ fruits look and taste pretty much like those cucumbers you buy in the supermarket. Very good, but nothing particularly special.

The White Wonders have a very dense and rather dry flesh. The 6″ fruit has a very mild flavor. Some (say, POD’s co-taster) might say it’s “bland and squash-like.”

Better living through chemistry, it seems. The little 4″ Adam F-1 is juicy, citrusy, floral, and tastes like something way fancy.