Carosello "Striped Leccese" Cucumber
Carosellos just might be your new favorite vegetable. They are eaten like cucumbers--the mildest, juiciest, most digestible cucumber you ever tasted, with a slightly sweet aftertaste. They have been grown and enjoyed in Italy for centuries, and come in several shapes, sizes, and colors. This variety is from the area around Lecce, in the "heel" of Italy.
Botanically, they are melons. Over the centuries they have been bred to be picked when immature, just as a zucchini is an immature squash. They are easy to grow, very early, prolific, and great-tasting. What more could you want?
Because you're picking them immature, you can pick them really, really soon. They need hot weather, but given that, they are ready very early. (The mature melons are mushy and bland, good mostly for pickling, jam, or feeding to livestock. Again, like zucchini.)