Topic: Whats What ??

[DawnF]

I planted Cougettes + Pumpkins + Butternut Squash in nice little pots in the greenhouse. Labelled them.
And the labels are now unreadable  :-\
How do I tell them apart?
I know the obvious - leave them till they grow ..... I want to planted them out in rows though ?

Thanks

[goodlife]

Oh..well..your courgettes propably has most serrated leaves for start with..and soon you will see the immature little fruitlets starting from the main stem ..even before the stem start 'stretching'...
Pumpkins and squash will be the smoother edged leaves then.. ;)
..and those you won't be growing in rows once they romp away... ;D

[DawnF]

Thanks for that I ll go and have an inspection later x

[aquilegia]

Oh it's a nightmare when that happens! I've found the best thing is a pencil on wooden labels. "permanent" markers aren't!

Check out the way the leaves develop as well. The pumpkins/squashes will trail more and produce leaves along the stem, whereas the courgettes are more bushy and will have leaves more around the centre. Of course if you're growing bush squashes, my theory goes out the window!

[elvis2003]

i wouldnt worry too much,they all need the same conditions and you can never tame them into rows anyway,as someone else said. have fun!

[Bugloss2009]

the courgette will probably have spikey leaves with rough scratchy hairs; the butternut has rounded leaves with soft hairs, and the pumpkin will probably be like the butternut only a lot more vigorous and bigger. And the pumpkin and the butternut should be zooming away with a vine, and the courgette getting bigger in the same place  ;) You only need to properly identify the courgette. The other2 grow in the same way.
Growin courgettes and trailing squash in the same place didn't work for me - the courgettes got overwhelmed

[caroline7758]

I had a similar problem earlier this year and found it was only when the courgettes started to fruit that I could be sure which were which- sorry!

[Digeroo]

Butternut squash plants tend to be slightly furry.  Pumpkins usually have bigger cotyledons..  

[Jeannine]

  There are some differences but they are slight in the beginning, mush easier to identify once the fruit stems arrive even if the fruit is unrecognisable.

Maxima family,leaves and stems are hairy, as are Moschata and Mixta but MIxta leaves are lighter green than Moschata and Pepo.

Pepo leaves are prickly

Moschto leaves have pointed leaf tip.
Mixta leaves are rounded leaf tip.

When the fruits start  to arrive , the fruit stems  all   very different and you can easily identify them then even if the fruits are babies.

Many pumpkins are pepos and many are moschata so all pumpkin plants do not look the same The varietys needs to be known to recognise the family, then you can identify the plant.

XX Jeannine