Holy Cucumber, Batman!

A few days ago, if you recall, I was standing on a soapbox talking about how important it is to keep a gardening journal.  In that post, I recall mentioning a particular lot of cucumber plants that I thought were pickling cukes but that were actually English Cukes (the kind that come in that plastic shrink-wrap "condom" at the supermarket).

What I didn't mention in the post is that I've been very curious as to why those suckers aren't forest-green like they should be.  If you remember the photo...

...they were kind of pale.

After a few more days, that thing got even bigger and I decided that if I didn't pick it soon, I was going to end-up with a walking stick instead of a cucumber (seriously...it was huge!).

Okay, you can't really tell because the flash kept causing a glare on the metal ruler, but that's a SIXTEEN-INCH ruler, which equates to a SIXTEEN-INCH cuke.

But what's up with the lumpy skin and pale green color?  Was it something I said?  Was it something I did?

A semi-thorough search of The Interwebs has me quite confident that this is NOT an English Cuke.  I'm pretty sure it's what's known as an Armenian Cucumber--quite possibly of the "Yard Long" variety.  According to several sources, it's not really a cucumber but a melon that happens to taste like a cucumber.  The description fits to a tee and the size of this particular one narrows it down to the Yard Long variety that actually can reach three feet long if you don't pick it before then--although they apparently taste best at 12 inches, making this one slightly beyond its peak.

Having tasted it, I can verify that it does indeed taste just like a cucumber.  It's a bit more firm with a milder taste and the bumpy skin makes it a little more challenging to peel.  Imagine the pickles I'll be able to make out of these.

Part of me wants to let the next one keep growing just to see how long it will get.  You think I should???