Lecture and tasting: "Cucumber as vegetable of the year"

Lecture, tasting and garden tour.

Event in cooperation with the Verein zur Erhaltung der Nutzpflanzenvielfalt.

Which fruit is that? It's related to pumpkins and melons, has been cultivated for over 5,000 years, is always eaten unripe and is sometimes sliced and placed on the face?
On Sunday, August 18, everything revolves around cucumbers for 2.5 hours. They are the most water-rich and lowest-calorie vegetable par excellence and can be used in many ways: they taste good boiled, fried or pickled. Their economic importance is immense: the fruits can be found on markets and supermarket shelves all over the world. In this country, we are mostly familiar with the salad or snake cucumbers grown under glass, the somewhat thicker mustard or peeling cucumbers for greenhouse and open-air cultivation and the small mini cucumbers. We have cucumber growers to thank for the fact that most cucumbers are almost free of bitter substances. However, the dreaded bitter ends can still occur in older varieties in unfavorable weather conditions. Cucumber breeding is still carried out successfully in Germany today - but many old varieties have disappeared. Do you still know the 'Best of Allen', the 'Königsdorfer Unermüdliche' or the 'Berliner Aal'?

VEN wants to contribute to the preservation and dissemination of little-known wild species and cultivated varieties with special characteristics, and is awarding the cucumber the Vegetable of the Year 2019/20. As every year, the Tropical Greenhouse is organizing a themed afternoon on the occasion of the annual vegetable. On Sunday, August 18, 2019, we cordially invite you to learn a lot of new things about the large group of cucumbers and their wild relatives. In addition to exciting talks by Alexander Artmann "A brief cultural history of the cucumber and its relatives" and Michael Stork "A foray through the diversity of cucumbers", there will be a practical tour of the garden with Cathrin Merx. You will learn how to grow cucumbers yourself, which varieties are suitable, how to avoid the "bitter end" and how to obtain seeds. We will also introduce you to different types and varieties of cucumbers in a small tasting session.
Whether you are a health-conscious cucumber lover or an enthusiastic allotment gardener: get inspiration for your own beds and your kitchen!

Pre-registration by Monday, August 12, 2019 at: tropengewaechshaus[at]uni-kassel[dot]de or 05542-981231. Admission 5 euros.