possible to identify mixed up cucumber varieties?

paradajky · June 5, 2022

Hi:
I'm growing two each: Dar, Beit Alpha (BA) and Mexican Sour Gherkin (MSG).

Unfortunately, I mixed them up when planting! Oops

My plan was to trellis BA and MSG, and because I have limited space and BA is parthenocarpic, I was also going to keep to one vine and do lower/lean. Unsure whether MSG is parthenocarpic. Dar is bush type, can't find whether it is parthenocarpic, and I was going to try keeping it within a tomato cage.

Is there a way to tell them apart in the early stages, or do I just need to wait for them to get larger? I'm asking the question because I need to prep the trellis in my limited space.

Happy to take photos.

Thanks!

KarenO · June 5, 2022

If you post photos I can probably help
KarenO

paradajky · June 5, 2022

Okay, thank you! I suspect 1 and 4 are MSG, 2 and 3 are BA, and 5 is Dar? I did lose one.

dshreter · June 5, 2022

5 is definitely MSG, the plant is so much more compact than a cucumber and is also smoother

paradajky · June 6, 2022

I took a closer look and the leaves are smoother than the others. That would mean I lost the second MSG, which makes sense because I gave all the seeds to family and asked them to plant some at their home.

#4's bloom opened, and it seems to have a vine-like stem, so it might be BA? I'm confused by the number of potential flowers around the nodes though, I guess I haven't looked at cucumber growth closely before. Neat.

paradajky · June 15, 2022

Mystery very likely solved! #1-4 have little cucumbers on them now. #1 and #2 are spiky so most likely Dar, while #3 and #4 are smooth and therefore Beit Alpha. These match up with pictures of mature cucumbers I found on various seed websites. Thanks for the help

paradajky · August 1, 2022

Just closing this out: Beginning July, I had about 5 cucumbers per week per plant, the beit alpha were delicious. The Dar was just okay I guess, and the MSG were meh but a pretty plant. I had to take all of the plants out as they were hit with horrible powdery mildew and I did not want this spreading to my tomatoes given proximity. I was spraying them every 4-5 days, alternating between 3% hydrogen peroxide and neem oil with potassium carbonate. Didn't seem to help at all.

June 5, 2022	#1
paradajky Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2021 Location: Coastal Southern CA Posts: 164	possible to identify mixed up cucumber varieties? Hi: I'm growing two each: Dar, Beit Alpha (BA) and Mexican Sour Gherkin (MSG). Unfortunately, I mixed them up when planting! Oops My plan was to trellis BA and MSG, and because I have limited space and BA is parthenocarpic, I was also going to keep to one vine and do lower/lean. Unsure whether MSG is parthenocarpic. Dar is bush type, can't find whether it is parthenocarpic, and I was going to try keeping it within a tomato cage. Is there a way to tell them apart in the early stages, or do I just need to wait for them to get larger? I'm asking the question because I need to prep the trellis in my limited space. Happy to take photos. Thanks!

June 5, 2022	#2
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,931	If you post photos I can probably help KarenO

June 5, 2022	#4
dshreter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2019 Location: Seattle Posts: 58	5 is definitely MSG, the plant is so much more compact than a cucumber and is also smoother

June 15, 2022	#6
paradajky Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2021 Location: Coastal Southern CA Posts: 164	Mystery very likely solved! #1-4 have little cucumbers on them now. #1 and #2 are spiky so most likely Dar, while #3 and #4 are smooth and therefore Beit Alpha. These match up with pictures of mature cucumbers I found on various seed websites. Thanks for the help

August 1, 2022	#7
paradajky Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2021 Location: Coastal Southern CA Posts: 164	Just closing this out: Beginning July, I had about 5 cucumbers per week per plant, the beit alpha were delicious. The Dar was just okay I guess, and the MSG were meh but a pretty plant. I had to take all of the plants out as they were hit with horrible powdery mildew and I did not want this spreading to my tomatoes given proximity. I was spraying them every 4-5 days, alternating between 3% hydrogen peroxide and neem oil with potassium carbonate. Didn't seem to help at all.