Cross Pollination Freak of Nature

I planted cucumbers and honeydew melons in the same row next to eachother, today I picked the first fruit any of these plants has offered. It looked like a weird squash at first but I was certain I planted the squash on the other end of the garden. I cut the fruit open and it looked like a small honeydew on the inside but the flesh was the color and texture of a cucumber.
It had a strong cucumber fragrance and it tasted like a sweet cucumber.

Has anyone else experienced this/ How do I keep it from happening/
I mean this new fruit is cool but I rather have cucumbers and honeydews as they should be.

Fathom! You created a cu-dew! [honeycumber?] That's amazing! I wonder if it has the fruit longevity of a cucumber.

What were the seeds like? It really does look squash-like, I agree, except I don't see any strings in it, or whatever that squashy feature is called.

COOL!

Nice

If it tastes good, go to the market and bank out on it!

reply to post by argentus

the seeds are not stringy like a squash or a pumpkin, it was just like a melon. I have been reading up on this and cross pollination of cucumbers and melons isn't supposed to be possible.
This thing definitely smells and tastes like a sweet cucumber.
I'm scared to eat it.

vric.ucdavis.edu...

[edit on 16-7-2008 by Fathom]

that sounds awesome. I'd love to try it

if they're rare, you should keep a few of them growing in your garden.

Originally posted by astronomine
Nice

If it tastes good, go to the market and bank out on it!

oh crud, i threw the seeds away!.
going to look for them in the trash...brb

reply to post by Fathom


a true laugh-out-loud!!! I know I'd have to try it. Worst case, it makes a spiffy wine with a clean finish.

Might be worth trying to segregate it from everything else, pollinator-wise. We are pollinator deficient down here. I have to manually pollinate papayas.

Hard to have respect for a lazy fruit.

I think they are both members of the curcurbit family.
What you have generally would not happen until the second generation of plants.
The same will happen if you plant, say, jalapenos next to bells. i.e. the current crop will not provide hot bells or sweet jalapenos, but be careful if you seed over to next growing season.
Interesting bit of gardening in any case.

Originally posted by LAUGHING-CAT
I think they are both members of the curcurbit family.
What you have generally would not happen until the second generation of plants.
The same will happen if you plant, say, jalapenos next to bells.

crud! that is exactly what i have, bells next to jalapenos! a whole row of them.

reply to post by Fathom
LOL!
I have the same situation, but I'm doing it for the novelty of what might occur.
I planted cukes next to crook neck squash and the squash got bright, almost flourescent, orange, and the cukes grew into the shape of the crook necks.
I won't eat any of it.
One of the times I wish I had a dog.

Wow , interesting. Did not know these mixes were possible. Now I want to try it,lol

Originally posted by LAUGHING-CAT
reply to post by Fathom

 

LOL!
One of the times I wish I had a dog.

omg not nice..poor puppy

amatrine:
acording to every website i have found it is not supposed to be possible to cross pollinate cukes and melons even tho they are the same family.

Originally posted by Fathom

Originally posted by LAUGHING-CAT
reply to post by Fathom

 

LOL!
One of the times I wish I had a dog.

omg not nice..poor puppy

amatrine:
acording to every website i have found it is not supposed to be possible to cross pollinate cukes and melons even tho they are the same family.

I think it's the same way with Eggplants, Tomatoes, and Potatoes. Their flowers look similar and they are all of the nightshade/Solanaceae family but they cannot cross-pollinate each other. If what you have is some sort of cross from previous crops then it's likely an F1 hybrid and it's seeds won't produce the same fruit so don't worry if you don't get them back.

Originally posted by beaverg
If what you have is some sort of cross from previous crops then it's likely an F1 hybrid and it's seeds won't produce the same fruit so don't worry if you don't get them back.

I forgot to mention that it is a first crop for this garden. it is brand new.

Makes you wonder what else is possible...

I'm sure you could mix most root crops like this.... carrot-radish or turnip-beet hybrids.

Potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers are all members of the same family... not sure if you could cross-breed a plant that grows hot tomatoes with potato-like roots perhaps?

Maybe "Iceberg spinach"? (crunchy yet healthy!)


[edit on 7/18/2008 by Yarcofin]

Checked my garden this evening and noticed three more of these guys sprouting, anyone want to try one? u2 me a mailing address and i will send you one free of charge. first 2 replies get a fruit.

edit to add, U.S only please don't want to ship overseas.

[edit on 18-7-2008 by Fathom]

You've created genetically modified crops! Congratulations!

Originally posted by Johnmike
You've created genetically modified crops! Congratulations!

No she hasn't produced a genetically modified crop at all. She has a pure natural hybridisation between two species as can occure in nature.

Genetic modification is the forced change of a single species DNA adding to it an unatural / synthetic modified gene.

One happens in nature through such freaky occurences, the other is artificial and man made frankenstein food.

Oh come on, give it a little taste. hehe Where did your seeds come from? If they were certified organic seeds, or better yet, heirloom seeds, then I wouldn't worry.

Cukes should be picked smaller anyway. When they grow too big they get tough. Same with summer squashes/courgettes.

You sure you didn't plant the Lemon cuke? They come out round like that. Did the seed area look like this



Next time when photographing, leave in the seed area. It helps for identifying. And if you garden regularly, don't toss the seeds in the trash. Stick 'em in your compost pile.

I don't know where you are located, but I find these people really helpful

UBC Centre for Plant Research

They have a forum and are located in British Columbia, Canada.

If you don't want to do that, head to your nearest Botanical Garden.

There's a great one I wish I could see, Royal Botanical Gardens Kew in the UK, along with all the RHS sites.

Another great one around Montreal area. One in Buffalo, NY.