cucumber , squash vine and melons are all in the cucurbita menage of plants . Most of them make long vines , but some do not . They look very like as seedling , but as they begin to blossom and make yield , it is easier to enjoin them apart in the garden . Looking at the flower size , the shape of the tiny yield behindthe female flowers , and the ecumenical habit of the plant will give you an estimation of what vegetable you are looking at .

Step 1

watch the growth wont of the plant in question . Cucumber and melon plant are usually smaller at first than squelch plant . The leave-taking are smaller , and the stems are not as deep . Summer and wintertime crush plants grow very fast in the early days of summer , whereas melon and cucumber plants take a while to get big .

Step 2

Look at the shape of the foliage . A watermelon flora has a characteristic show : it is more deeply lob than a Cucumis melo cantalupensis , squash or cucumber leaf . If you are looking at a watermelon plant , it is likely that the vines have start running along the ground almost at once .

Step 3

Determine if the plant is trying to climb upward using tendrils , or if it is running along the ground . A cucumber plant will attempt to grow vertically , putting out strong tendrils that will grab onto anything and pull the plant upward . Some melon will rise , although more debile . Summer squash never puts out tendril , although some winter squelch do . summertime squash will stay bushy rather than commit out vines and tendril along the ground .

Step 4

contain the stem to see if it is somewhat spiny . The stems of squash plants are often somewhat prickly , whereas cucumber and melons never are . Their stems are somewhat fragile looking compared to squash stem . Next , keep an eye on the flower , once the plant commence blossom . Cucumber and melon efflorescence will be small , about the size of a Ni , whereas squelch flowers are large , several inches across . The flower open in the dayspring , and there are manful and female flowers . The female flowers will be the ones that mould the fruit .

Step 5

watch below the flower and see if a little fruit is forming there . Once the female blossom has been pollinated by louse , the flower will close and wilt , and a pocket-sized yield will form at the foot of the flower . Look at the size and shape of this fruit to see what kind of genus Cucurbita it is . Cucumis sativus will normally take form farseeing thin fruit , a watermelon or cantaloupe will be round , and some wintertime squash have a characteristic excrescence at one last of the yield .

Tip

ply a trellis for your vining cucurbita to go up on , and they will be salubrious and more productive . you may harvest the large sterile male bloom of squash plants ( the ones without the excrescence at the pedestal of the heyday ) and eat up them .

Warning

Be careful not to step on the stems of vining crops as you visit them . Handle the distaff bloom carefully when inspecting them , or the yield may abort .

References

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