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Old 14-05-2010, 06:29 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
Billy[_10_] Billy[_10_] is offline
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Default How to tell cantaloupe, cucumber and honey dew plants apart

In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Jeff Thies wrote:
I planted by seed this year and didn't do a good job of marking
which was which. What I thought were watermelon plants, clearly
aren't. They have leaves like cucumbers but seem to be in clusters,
rather than alternate. They also have stronger points on the leaves
than cucumbers.
My hope is that I'm growing something other than just cukes! Not a
big deal as eventually I will know! It seems like there should be a
cucurbit taxonomy reference, but I can't find it.

Jeff


While your cucurbit seedlings may look slightly different (or not) it is
very hard to say which is which unless you have a known exemplar to compare
against, even then they may be so similar that you cannot be sure. There is
no simple rule like 'all cucumbers have a ....." or 'all watermelons lack
....' You will probably have to wait until they grow up when the
differences are clearer.

You should pay closer attention in future as they don't grow to the same
size and you should allow for this when planting if you don't want your
pumpkin to stomp on everything else.

David


With grapes you need to see the flower, the cluster, and the seeds. A
tall order in spring.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
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