Cucumis melo var. chate ‘Half-Long Carosello from Polignano’ SEEDS

Cucumis melo var. chate ‘Half-Long Carosello from Polignano’ seeds grow into the Polignano half-long carosello a traditional Apulian vegetable melon from Polignano a Mare (Bari province), producing semi-elongated, slightly curved fruits of pale green skin eaten unripe as a fresh vegetable. Cucumis melo L. var. chate is the vegetable melon group melon types harvested and consumed immature, before sugar development, as cucumber-type vegetables in the southern Italian tradition. ‘Half-Long’ (‘mezzo-lungo’) describes the intermediate fruit shape between the round carosello and the fully elongated types. Polignano a Mare, famous for its carrots (Carota di Polignano IGP), also maintains a rich heritage of carosello melon cultivation. Refreshing, watery, mild flavour eaten raw. Family Cucurbitaceae.

Full sun; fertile, well-drained soils; warm Mediterranean conditions. Harvest young and green. Eat raw in salads with oil, salt and fresh herbs. Named cultivar may NOT breed true from seed.

• ‘Half-Long Carosello Polignano’ = semi-elongated form; Polignano a Mare, Bari province, Apulia; pale green unripe
• Chate = vegetable melon; eaten unripe as cucumber substitute; mild watery flavour; Polignano heritage tradition
• Polignano: also famous for Carota di Polignano IGP; strong local vegetable heritage; harvest before full maturity
• Genus Cucumis: ~100 species; Old World tropics; Family Cucurbitaceae; Order Cucurbitales
• Full sun; fertile soils; warm Mediterranean; harvest young; eat raw; named cultivar may not breed true

Cucumis melo var. chate ‘Half-Long Carosello from Polignano’ connects the garden to the rich vegetable heritage of the Adriatic coast of Apulia, where the same town celebrated globally for its extraordinary purple carrots also maintains a tradition of carosello melon cultivation that represents one of the most distinctive aspects of southern Italian summer vegetable culture.

IMPORTANT: Pictures show the adult plant, which is not for sale. The offer is only for seeds.