August 5, 2008

Armenian Striped Cucumbers

When would you find a treasure like Armenian striped cucumbers in a grocery store?

They are the sort of vegetable you dream of growing while poring over seed catalogs in the dark of winter.

I found these at the farmers market, brought across the Bay from Modesto by Payne Farm, a family farm with organic certification. Apparently they are too busy farming to put up a website; but the California Department of Agriculture shows them as planning to grow two tons of these beauties, on a mere quarter acre.

The cukes are just one of many produce types on the summer harvest list for the farm; and the quantities of the varied produce really demonstrate how abundant bio-diverse small-scale agriculture can be. And if I decide in the dark of winter that I want to try them in my own yard, you can bet the Paynes will share their growing tips with me.

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