World’s largest not-potato
David Schaeffer via pbs (Sun, 20 Mar 2022 06:37:09 PDT)

Idk...have to take this kind of popular "science" reporting with a grain of
salt. I mean if the guy's really a gardner he should have been able to spot
that it's not a potato. Where are the eyes? And a tuberous cucurbit in the
UK is nothing odd - my knowledge of European plants is PATHETIC, but I
still know about white bryony, and I'll bet it's not the only tuberous cuke
native to the area.

As to whether cold-hardy cukes could be created through hybridization,
sure, probably. But it would be a fairly major undertaking. You'd be
starting from the ground up (groan. Look, you want Steve Hammer-level
jokes? Go get Steve Hammer). I would think Mexico would be a good starting
point, finding something close enough to mouse melon to begin breeding.
There's ulluco, too, but it's no hardier than a potato. It'd be interesting
to try. And probably an interesting way to introduce some new viruses to
cultivation...

- Dave

On Sun, Mar 20, 2022, 9:12 AM Carl Frederick via pbs <
pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:

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