In Turkey, seed savers usually didn’t feel the urge to name the seeds they historically have been stewarding. Seeds are part of the culture, daily life and cuisine. They also belong to communities, not to individuals, hence, they don’t need to be identified by specific names. There are many regional farm and kitchen traditions throughout the whole country, and within their own scale, every region adopted different seed traditions. These regions also consist of smaller scale settlements, which are oftentimes villages, that over thousands of years developed their own seeds through collective and community-based plant breeding while they also stayed loyal to their region’s traditions. Therefore, when a seed variety is referenced (i.e. “that cucumber from Meram,” followed by the cucumber’s known traits for identification purposes, if needed) in a region in a given context, everyone knows what that variety is without the need to say a name.
Meram is no exception. It is a wonderful cucumber that has been grown in Meram town of Konya province for generations. It is also very rare these days as the pressure from hybrid seed market and the declining number of seed savers and farmers in the region intensify. Fruits of this variety are 6-7″, and have excellent flavor, crunch and texture. Plants are very productive.
Commercially introduced by us in the U.S.
Phonetically pronounced: meh-rahm
- Cucumis sativus
- Full sun
- Planting depth: 1/2″
- Sprouts in 7-10 days
- Ideal growing temperature: 70-90F
- Plant spacing: 18″
- Frost hardy: No
- Growth habit: Vining
- Growing tips: Start cucumber seeds indoors in seedling trays or small seedling pots in seed starting soil that has essential nutrients in it 3-4 weeks prior to last frost. Keep the soil moist for quick germination. Make sure to keep the young cucumber seedlings under good light to have strong plants with sturdy, healthy stems and leaves. Transplant to garden or a pot with ample space for roots to spread after last frost in well-drained, fertile soil. Feed your cucumber plants with liquid fertilizer once every two weeks. Water regularly especially in flower stage. Mulch and always water at plant base to minimize disease. You can trellis cucumber plants to decrease disease pressure and improve air circulation. Cucumber thrives in a hot climate and does best in sandy soil with good drainage. Note that it is possible for cucumber seeds to rot when they are direct-seeded if the soil is cool and moist before they can sprout so make sure the soil temperature is over 70F.
This cuke is very good in cacık.
Germination was great. High productivity. Great taste. We loved these.
great cucumbers, very prolific, great taste, skin is tender, just eat off the vine
Only planted one of these. But it produced a lot of cukes. Tasty and not too bitter.