Mirza melons, not quite fully ripe, yet slightly more adapted to our very wet, very Philly climate and soils. Originally from Uzbekistan, our seeds come from Eric Hanson, author of a fascinating article in @aramcoworld called “In Search of Ibn Battuta’s Melon”. He received them from an Armenian farmer in the high desert of California’s Central Valley, who decided that Mirza and another melon were the two of 28 Uzbek melon varieties he trialed that were most acclimated to his farm. Hanson went searching for red-fleshed melons that were described by Battuta in 1333 during a visit to Central Asia, where sweet melons (Cucumis melo) were first bred. He found more Mirza, and a huge diversity of melons and their farmers. Excited by his article, I wrote to him, and he generously shared several varieties he’s been growing in the Sacramento area. We harvested ours today because while the plants looked much healthier this year than last, they suddenly wilted this week, several beautiful fruit rotted, and groundhogs have been after them as well (perhaps the cause of some rot). The flesh, while crunchy and immature, was delicious, and I can imagine the fragrant and delicate flavors a truly ripe fruit would offer. Traditionally, Mirza is sun-dried sort of like fruit leather - and it’s bites are full of summer sun long after the mother vines have died and the nights have grown cold. We put some fresh melon cut up in our water, which was subtle yet so refreshing on our hot and humid drive home this afternoon. While my Middle Eastern roots are faint whispers through my southern Italian ancestors, melons, and particularly cantaloupes and honeydew, have been ubiquitous in my lifetime and perhaps for hundreds of years for my people. Armenians brought melons to Italy around the mid-15th century. I am grateful to the Central Asian melon growers of long-ago (and today) for their dreams, their patience, and their way with melons. #mirzamelon #uzbekmelon #seedkeeping #seedsaving #cucumismelo #heirloommelons https://www.instagram.com/p/B0AI0kXgAUF/?igshid=1clm7yjau54ml
