Question
hi mike i have emailed before but my question is now i just bought cucumber plants and what i hope is cantaloupes but my question is how can you tell the two plants apart looking at pictures on line they look almost identical. if you have any pictures of any cucumber and cantaloupe plants that would be great.  If you don't hopefully you can tell me how to tell the difference between the two plants(cucumbers and cantaloupes).  and yes i know that they are really muskmelons.

Answer
Chris, they are very difficult to distinguish as seedlings. As members of the squash family, their growth habit and physical characteristics are nearly identical for the first 4-6 weeks. The one difference in many cultivars is that cucumber leaves tend to be hairy or rough while cantaloupe leaves are generally smoother, shiny, and a lighter green.

I do have illustrations of both plants and would be happy to send them. Unfortunately, this forum does not allow for attachments. However, I can send you links to a couple of websites that do give fairly good illustrations.

http://www.thephillipshome.com/garden/cantaloupe1.jpg
http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/siyans3.jpg

I hope this information helps. Good luck, and please write again if I can ever be of assistance.

Regards,

Mike