How to tell cantaloupe, cucumber and honey dew plants apart
Jeff Thies
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
David Hare-Scott
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
Billy
Jeff Thies <jeff_...@att.net> wrote:
Seems like you bit off a big one.
The book you want is
Cucurbits (Crop Production Science in Horticulture) (Paperback)
~ D Decker-Walters (Author), R W Robinson (Author)
<http://www.amazon.com/Cucurbits-Crop-Production-Science-Horticulture/dp/
0851991335>
My library doesn't have it, and at $60, Amazon is out of stock.
http://delta-intkey.com/angio/ looks like it could be useful, but I'm
out of my league with it.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html
Jeff Thies
> In article <hsi497$ulq$1...@news.albasani.net>,
> Jeff Thies <jeff_...@att.net> 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
>
> Seems like you bit off a big one.
>
> The book you want is
> Cucurbits (Crop Production Science in Horticulture) (Paperback)
> ~ D Decker-Walters (Author), R W Robinson (Author)
> <http://www.amazon.com/Cucurbits-Crop-Production-Science-Horticulture/dp/
> 0851991335>
>
> My library doesn't have it, and at $60, Amazon is out of stock.
>
> http://delta-intkey.com/angio/ looks like it could be useful, but I'm
> out of my league with it.
It is an odd thing isn't it, I couldn't figure it out either.
I suppose the thing to do, as David suggested is to better mark them.
Sharpie on peat pot was a bad idea, as was photographing the trays with
the seed envelopes adjacent. I suppose those plastic sticks and a
sharpie is the way to go.
It is remarkable how similar the leaves are, and looking at pics
online is hopeless.
On another note, I just ran across this from UA:
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/indexes/anrho.php
I mention that only as a resource that is extensive and readable. You
seem to collect those!
Jeff
Billy
Jeff Thies <jeff_...@att.net> wrote:
With me, I usually make the same mistake until it pisses me off. I don't
recommend it as a tactic, but I seem to have a need to run into walls.
>
> It is remarkable how similar the leaves are, and looking at pics
> online is hopeless.
>
> On another note, I just ran across this from UA:
>
> http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/indexes/anrho.php
>
> I mention that only as a resource that is extensive and readable. You
> seem to collect those!
>
> Jeff
Wow. No mention of organic. Otherwise it looks good for identifying
diseases. Lot of information, I just need to figure out how to use it.
It's bookmarked.
Billy
"David Hare-Scott" <sec...@nospam.com> wrote:
With grapes you need to see the flower, the cluster, and the seeds. A
tall order in spring.
Bill who putters
<http://www.public.iastate.edu/~taber/Extension/Vegetable%20Seedling%20Id
entification.pdf>
--
Bill S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden
What use one more wake up call?
http://www.thesunmagazine.org/ many stars
David Hare-Scott
> In article <hsi497$ulq$1...@news.albasani.net>,
> Jeff Thies <jeff_...@att.net> wrote:
>
>> I planted by seed this year and didn't do a good job of marking
>> which was which. What I thought were watermelon plants, clearly
>> aren't. They have leaves like cucumbers but seem to be in clusters,
>> rather than alternate. They also have stronger points on the leaves
>> than cucumbers.
>>
>> My hope is that I'm growing something other than just cukes! Not a
>> big deal as eventually I will know! It seems like there should be a
>> cucurbit taxonomy reference, but I can't find it.
>>
>> Jeff
>
> <http://www.public.iastate.edu/~taber/Extension/Vegetable%20Seedling%20Id
> entification.pdf>
That's good thanks
David
The Cook
wrote:
>In article <hsi5k8$u2$1...@news.albasani.net>,
> "David Hare-Scott" <sec...@nospam.com> 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.
When we bought our last muscadines we got them in the fall. We asked
the owner of the nursery about which were muscadines (purple) and
which were scuppernongs (bronze). He said they are out in the side
area and many have grapes on them. So we looked around and sampled
some of the grapes and bought the ones we liked the taste of. Only
way to buy them.
--
USA
North Carolina Foothills
USDA Zone 7a
The Cook
wrote:
I finally figured out a way to mark plants. I always use separated
trays and plant a row or more of 6.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/265e7xe
The row gets a label. The label is a popsickle stick written in dark
pencil or ink. When I move the seedlings into a larger tray each
plant gets a marker. I keep the markers with the plant at least until
I get them into the ground. That way I do not plant all acorn squash
instead of zucchini (green and yellow), butternut, cucumbers and
watermelon. Once they are in the ground I don't worry about it. I
will know for sure when they start fruiting. I plant my cucumbers
around a 5' tomato cage.
I am somewhat obsessive about my tomatoes. I plant many varieties and
it can be hard to tell the difference between the various Romas or the
red slicers. I track the yield on each variety to see which ones do
the best here and which ones we think taste best. I print out a plot
and try to be very careful as I plant. I keep a copy of it in a
plastic sleeve pinned to one of the cages. I do it on the computer so
I can always make another copy if needed.
I said it was obsessive.
Jeff Thies
I agree. Although it is is still damn hard to see the difference
between cucumbers and musk melons! The article is well worth a hard copy.
Jeff
>
> David