Mystery Fruit?

[patfish]

Okay, here's the dealio. I bought, just like every year, a melon of some type to grow. Thus far, I have never had one come to fruitition. This year we bought some muskmelon plants. AKA cantaloupe. I have fruit (maybe) on the vine. So, here is the question.... what in the world is this? I'm thinking watermelon. There is no possible way it is a cantaloupe. But it totally looks like a zuch. The flowers have rounded ends so I know its not a cuke plant. Any ideas? Also, I included a "welcome to the Mater jungle" pic. 41 tomato plants of various varieties. So if you live nearby, feel free to PM me as I'm sure we'll have a few to spare. The flower pic kinda stinks as far as focus, but light was low. Sorry.

[slider]

looks like a burples cucumber to me but just a guess. slider

[flyfshn]

Looks like a cross between a cucumber and a watermelon, but it just hasn't gotten fat enough yet! Hey, them there maters look really good......and I live pretty close! Just send me your address and I will "borrow" some in the middle of the night....that way you wont know and you can blame the critters!

[jdmidwest]

Looks like a cucumber to me. Squash do not vine and the flowers are about the size of your fist. bloom in the morning and close up by the end of the day. Somebody probably switched labels at the store where you bought the plants as they all look alike till they start putting on several leaves.

[Dutch]

Could it be vining OKRA.

[Terry Beeson]

Cuke.... no doubt....

Peel it, slice it, a few rings of purple onion, unseasoned rice vinegar, salt and pepper to taste... Let it set in the fridge for a few hours.... enjoy!!!

[jdmidwest]

Beeson, where do you find Rice Vinegar?

You forgot a little oil and sugar and some peppers.

[Aaron J Scott]

Man, that looks delicious.

I grew cukes one year and had so many that I eventually gave up making salads out of them and just ate them raw. I love cucumbers. Wish I had room for an actual row garden! All I have right now are in containers--but my tomatoes are still looking pretty good.

[Quillback]

Patfish - What do you use to keep your vines in such good shape? Some bugs, either mites or aphids are killing the tomato leaves on my plants. I have tired spraying them with the organic spray walmart and Lowes carry, but it doesn't seem to slow them down. I have alos tried dish detergent mixed with water. I have heard Sevin works, but I am reluctant to use it.

[patfish]

Quill, I seem to have lucked out so far this year on the insects. However, in the past, and I always try to avoid chemicals, if I have an insect issue, I use LadyBugs as my first option. They are cheap, effective, and as long as you have, hopefully in this case, aphids or mites, they will stay on your plants as long as there are aphids/mites to eat. I get a bag of 1000 and usually put half on at a time depending on the number of plants you have. You can store the rest in the fridge until needed. If you don't have a place in town you can get them, there are tons of places on-line. Any other questions, let me know.

Good growing!