Hurrah, my cucurbit seedling survived ! A good memory in 2024 was to discover my mysterious seedling which withstand the vagaries of the weather and the procession of gastropods that make mincemeat of them. I was finally going to be able to enjoy cucumbers from my garden! And like “Perrette and her pot au lait”, the famous Lafontaine story, I was already dreaming of squash, cucumbers, gherkins and – why not – making jars of them. But – to my dismay – in July, its incredibly voluble vines, still bore no fruit. Finally, in August, I saw small greenish flowers appear in its magnificent foliage, clustered in the leaf axils and quickly transformed into fruit. Horn-shaped, with a few soft needles on the skin, they didn’t look at all like pickles. “This is a cyclenthere, aka achocha or pedata,” I was told. Continue reading “The Andean cucumber”
