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| Year ago or maybe more, After a family member asked me to grow for her Uzbek melons I went on a quest to find them, But somehow I was out of luck with that The closest available to the specifics she remembered were melons from Afghanistan, Available at B.C they also have Uzbek sweetens melon seeds, but it was out of stock wile placing the order last year Among the crop of dozen varieties of melons last year That Afghan melon had the best taste It was not just sweeter than other melons, it just tasted better Few different people who tasted it confirmed he had the best taste and texture compared to the other melons Something between Watermelon to melon, just better. Flesh was green with slight color change, like green marble Even at season end those melons were odorless from outside and did not show any will to slip from the vine My relative admitted, they reminded her Uzbek melons But not exactly what she remembered From what I've gathered Surxondaryo province who sit on the Afghan border grows different melons than Xorazm province and the melons she remembered probably came from Xorazm or karakalpakstan Of course it is a mere shot in the dark, But she might have refer to the Non gusht melons That way or an other, melons from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan caught my curiosity, but even wile searching on the net using broken Russian or Uzbek, those melons just sailing further and further away from me, fading beyond the horizon If there is a someone from Uzbekistan reading that post Or if there is someone who ever grew Uzbek melons and has seeds photos or information to share, I'm certain more people than just me will be interested to Hear
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by thegreatcob none (My Page) on Mon, Dec 24, 12 at 19:56
| Uzbekistan does not very good connection to internet. |
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| For westerner, Central Asian countries are not always easy to find through the internet, that is right. Many Uzbek's can speak Russian,and others can speak English at least in big populated areas. To my understanding Uzbekistan is better connected than Turkmenistan. Not so long ago a nice person from Uzbekistan named Ravshan was writing in that same forum, so it is a matter of coincidence as well. Uzbek melons were also grown in the USA, David Karp was writing few articles about it, I did contacted him and few others: Balakian Farms, Ruben Mkrtchyan, and others I cannot recall, Most of them were very kind, others did not reapply. I'm certain that at least on a small scale, seeds of Uzbek melons are circulating in the US, and probably few of those melons can be found where there is a community who yearn for them. If no one will participate, I'll try to maintain that thread every once in a wile. I have more than enough melon varieties, much more than I can grow in one season, but growing melons without growing the famous Uzbek ones, it seems to be somewhat lacking. If not mistaking The photo shows "Melon Torpedo" or Mirzachul, I read a review from Uzbek blogger, describing its taste as almost similar to the Turkish famous kirkagac The photo is from that article: http://www.anons.uz/article/society/8032/ I had to edit the post as the Russian and Turkish names were not displayed properly
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This post was edited by naat on Wed, Dec 26, 12 at 5:05
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- Posted by teauteau KC5/6 (teauteau@swbell.net) on Thu, Dec 27, 12 at 11:54
| I saw these listings in Baker Creek Seeds Catalogue. http://rareseeds.com/uzbek-sweetness-melon.html Uzbek Sweetness http://rareseeds.com/afghan-honeydew-melon.html |
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- Posted by fusion_power 7b (My Page) on Thu, Dec 27, 12 at 13:52
| I will go through my melon seed in a week or two and see if I have any that might fit your description. If you could find a photo or a description that is more detailed, that would help considerably. Meantime, take a look through these pages. DarJones |
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| teauteau, you are right, I have mentioned it in the opening post. The Afghan melon is exceptionally tasty, the other one was out of stock last season, and According to the description the Uzbek Sweetness is not what I'm after There are seeds available also from other melon referred to as: Uzbek-Russian melon and I'm not yet certain if it is an Russian version of the Mirzachul or something completely different, from what I have read in Russian gardening forum, people who knows the Uzbek melons say that Mirzachul is not the same as Uzbek-Russian melon, that make sense, the real Mirzachul and other great Uzbek melons, will take longer season to mature. If you pick up Uzbek telephone guide, pick up a random number, completely and utterly a world within itself covered by melons. Few of the melons I'm searching for were cultivated in California |
Here is a link that might be useful: articles about melons from latimes
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| fusion_power, thank you, I'll search for better description, few months ago there was a guy from Uzbekistan posting in that forum, named Ravshan, I missed a replay he sent me 3 months ago with names of preferred melons varieties, The one my relative described from her childhood in Uzbekistan was elongated, slightly pointy at the ends , netted, with alternate colors and spots she said it had orange or salmon colored pulp, and a bit crispy in a pleasant succulent way (as opposed to "uncooked potato" type of crispiness) not sure if that was the Non gusht, as I never seen a picture, it should have the shape of "Afghan honeydew" maybe larger in size, and more colorful on the outside. |
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| From what I've gathered, the closest by shape, popularity, and taste is the orange version of the shakarpalak it is named: Kizil shakarpalak the photo is from:melons in Uzbekistan, (Google books) other ones Ravshan mentioned for their superb taste were: obinovvot, bosvoldi, kukcha, regular shakarpalak,Mirzachul I have read that in California, attempts were made to grow at least two of them on commercial scale those were: Mirzachul and obinovvot |
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- Posted by teauteau KC5/6 (teauteau@swbell.net) on Fri, Dec 28, 12 at 9:33
| Naat, Sorry for duplication of information in my last posting. I get excited reading about produce that is new to me! Have you contacted Seed Savers Exchange? They might be able to help you locate your melons. They have a lot of information about thousands of heirloom and open pollinated melons. They have members from all over the world and a giant seed bank that you may be able to get access too if you become a member. Here's a link: http://www.seedsavers.org/ |
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- Posted by fusion_power 7b (My Page) on Fri, Dec 28, 12 at 13:08
| See if any of these ring any bells. Abunabat Darjones |
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| teauteau: seed savers exchange may bee good place for searching for the time being I'm using Google translate and writing in Russian speaking forums Darjones: |
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- Posted by fusion_power 7b (My Page) on Sat, Dec 29, 12 at 10:51
| I know where to get them. I will see if they can be obtained. If so, I will send you a message and arrange to forward a few seed to you. Interestingly, I found one item that is described as red fleshed. Are there any red fleshed Uzbek melons? DarJones |
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| Red.. sounds interesting, I have never heard of Uzbek melon with red pulp Was the description written by someone who grew that variety, or collected the seeds? Uzbek melons who has orange pulp or skin may have the word "Qizil" added to their name Although in Uzbek "Qizil" means red, they refer more to orange colored pulp or skin "qizg'ish" means orange color "to'q sariq" can be orange as well "sariq" is yellow "pushti" means pink "yashil" means green Dark orange is the closest to red I can think of Thanks, If it'll work out I'll wait for that message.
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- Posted by fusion_power 7b (My Page) on Fri, Jan 11, 13 at 16:21
| Naat, I have the seed in and can send you samples. Please send me an email with your physical address. DarJones |
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| Thank you for those uplifting news email sent |
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- Posted by HappyBallz 9A FL (My Page) on Thu, Jan 31, 13 at 18:32
| fusion_power, I actually have been looking for Uzbek melons since last year. Do you mind sending me some as well? I can transfer funds for postage by pay-pal if you like. I actually got hold of ravshan awhile ago but he replied after some while, so I only got to the email months after his reply since it got barried by spam. lol I will try to contact him again. |
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| Just came across his thread and I too am trying to track down some of these famous Uzbek melon varieties. I have started out with the Uzbek sweetness offered by baker creek. I would really like to acquire some others for spring planting 2015. Glenn |
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| Growing melons in z5a? That's no easy trick.. |
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| pnbrown, I have been growing various melons since 2006. the first few years I merely started indoors and planted out then depending on the season would have varying degree's of success dependant on variety. The last few years I get boat loads even with our very strange short and cool year we had this year. I fabricated a bunch of 4x8 mini green houses which go over top of either garbage bags or black weed barrier. I must pay close attention to the weather forecasts as it can get so hot inside it totally fries everything if I don't open the ends on a 70-75F day it can get well into the hundreds. I have gone a little melon crazy and this fall/winter I will be fabbing up even more bigger homes for some of the more rampant growers who love heat. I haven't even finished harvesting this years crop and I am already getting a whole acre dedicated to growing melons prepped. Glenn |
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