How to distinguish zucchini seedlings from pumpkin: features of sprouts and leaves of crops

We love pumpkins very much, but this year we were almost left without a harvest: after planting in the ground, the purchased seeds sprouted late and turned out to be... zucchini. I had to urgently look for bags of early ripening varieties and plant them as seedlings in order to have time to collect the desired orange fruits before frost.

I examined the seedlings every day and scrupulously assessed their “resemblance” to a pumpkin, so as not to plant the wrong crop on the former compost heap again.

Pumpkin compatibility when planting

Many gardeners, especially beginners, doubt whether it is possible to plant zucchini and pumpkin next to each other.
When these vegetables are planted together, cross-pollination occurs, which can affect the quality, shape and color of future fruits. Such fruits are edible, but have a slightly specific taste. A certain hybrid grows on zucchini bushes, round in shape and yellowish in color, which is only suitable for making zucchini pancakes. Pumpkins produce oblong-shaped fruits with unchanged taste.

Therefore, for those who want to get a good harvest of vegetables with excellent taste and presentation, pumpkin and zucchini should grow in separate beds.

Main differences

Seeds

An experienced gardener can quickly determine which species belongs to one or another even before planting.

• slightly convex, oval shape;
• thin, light-colored peel;
• easily divided into cotyledons.

• round, flat shape;
• thick, rough yellow peel;
• difficult to disclose.

Plant

The pumpkin sprouts quickly. The sprouts are strong and squat. The leaves are quite rough and thick. It always shoots lashes and has leaves shaped like burdock with teeth. Flowering along the vine.

Zucchini sprouts a little later. They grow in bushes. They have more elongated, rounded light green carved leaves. Flowers appear in the middle of the bush

These signs do not always work due to the large number of species of these crops. The final point can only be made after the first fruits appear.

Zucchini

• They always have an elongated or oval shape (sometimes they are curved).
• The color of the fruit varies from white to green. There are striped varieties.

Only young fruits are eaten. They taste quite bland; they are used as snacks or as pickles. They are low in calories and are included in many diets.

The first harvest can be harvested 50 days or a little later after emergence.

Pumpkin

• The fruits are most often round. Although there are also elongated varieties, they cannot be confused with zucchini - they are significantly larger in size.
• The pulp has a specific pumpkin smell, is fibrous, orange in color, and is covered with a dense crust on top.

The taste is significantly different: it is sweeter, juice is made from it, pureed, and added to porridge. Only ripe fruits are eaten (from late summer until the first frost).

Unripe pumpkin is placed in a warm room for storage and full ripening.

The benefits of pumpkin and zucchini

These two crops are widely used in dietary nutrition. Pumpkin fruits are used for processing into juices, for making sweet cereals and as a dessert. Zucchini is more suitable for preparing snacks and various preparations for the winter.

In terms of medicinal properties, pumpkin is significantly superior to zucchini. Its pulp contains large quantities of essential microelements and vitamins. Its seeds can be used to combat helminths. The oil prepared from them is used for various metabolic disorders and has antiseptic and antioxidant properties.

Zucchini, due to its low calorie content, is used as a component of dishes for various types of diets. Also, their pulp is rich in various microelements and mineral salts, which are very important for proper metabolism in the body. This vegetable is well suited for feeding those who suffer from various diseases of the digestive system. In addition, these members of the pumpkin family are an excellent diuretic.

How to distinguish zucchini seedlings from squash

Even an experienced gardener cannot distinguish between seedlings of zucchini and squash by appearance. These plants are close relatives and are similar in many ways. Before fruiting begins, one can only make assumptions by comparing crops by leaves. The vegetative organ of squash has a pentagonal shape as in the photo, it is slightly dissected. Smaller in size than zucchini leaves. There are varieties with heavily cut plates. The squash fruits are of an unusual dish-shaped shape, often with a scalloped edge. They cannot be confused with other vegetables.

Numerous representatives of the pumpkin family are welcome guests on the table and in the garden. Each vegetable is good and healthy in its own way. To avoid confusion, after collecting the seeds, pack them in separate paper bags and label them. Indicate not only the variety, but also the year of collection. Seed material can be stored for 6-8 years. It is advisable to prepare containers that differ in appearance for seedlings. If all the pots are the same (peat), then label them. A simple and affordable material for identification plates is disposable plastic spoons.

The video will introduce you to the appearance of pumpkin seedlings:

Melon, watermelon, cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, squash - it’s hard to imagine that plants so different in appearance are representatives of the same family. And in terms of taste, they differ significantly from each other. Is it possible to compare the juicy sweet pulp of a watermelon with the absolutely bland squash? It’s not for nothing that the first fruit is considered an excellent dessert, and the second is much more often used in pickles for the winter. However, in our article we will not talk about them at all. Let's talk about the difference between zucchini and pumpkin.

Plant differences

It is much easier to distinguish between adult squash and pumpkin plants than at the seedling stage.

Zucchini

• bush shape: compact;
• lashes: rare, when growing thin and short, do not form roots;
• leaves: small, five-lobed, carved;
• leaf arrangement: sequential.

Mature zucchini plant

Pumpkin

• bush shape: spreading;
• lashes: long with the formation of roots;
• leaves: large, rounded.

Shedding is not always the main indicator of culture. For example, stronger dissection of the leaf blade in zucchini is observed in zucchini. In pumpkin, depending on the variety, the leaves can differ radically from each other:

• hard-barked - classic five-lobed rounded leaf plate;
• large-fruited – cup-shaped;
• nutmeg - in the shape of a heart.

Mature pumpkin plant

You can distinguish a zucchini from a pumpkin at the flowering stage: in a zucchini the flower is always in the middle of the bush, while in a pumpkin the flowers are located along the main stem. The flowers also differ in size: pumpkin's are much larger than those of zucchini.

Distinctive features of pumpkin crops

When collecting your own seeds in the fall or after purchasing material in a store, you can scatter and mix up pumpkin seeds. Outwardly they are very similar. Even experienced gardeners cannot figure it out at a quick glance. To sort the planting material, you need to carefully study it. What is the difference between pumpkin seeds and zucchini seeds?

Characteristic features of zucchini:

• the shape of the seeds is oval, elongated;
• length 1-2 cm;
• small rim around the edge;
• the shell is thin, especially if the seeds are not stored for long;
• The color is white, less often cream.

Advice. To identify a vegetable, do a test: place a seed on the edge and press with your fingertips. If it breaks into two halves, it's a zucchini.

Distinctive features of pumpkin:

• the seeds are yellowish in color of varying intensity;
• the shape is more rounded;
• the outer shell is hard, with a wide rim around the perimeter;
• size 2-3 cm.

The listed signs do not provide a 100% guarantee in identifying a vegetable. There are varieties of pumpkins and zucchini whose seeds look the same. If you are not confident in the planting material, then you should plant it not in a garden bed, where cross-pollination will occur in the summer, but in pots for seedlings. After germination, it is easier to understand the type of plant.

Similarities

Pumpkins and zucchini have similar requirements for storing fruits.

Both species belong to the same family - pumpkin. Both love warmth: the optimal temperature should be about 25°. They grow well on light loamy soils, compost heaps, and ordinary manure is quite suitable as a top dressing.

Planting of seedlings occurs at the same time; in the future, the plants must be protected from frost, at first, weeds must be destroyed and watered with warm water.

Both zucchini and pumpkin can be grown in seedlings and in the usual way (planting in open ground).

They have the same diseases (powdery mildew, root rot) and treatment methods.

The methods of storing crops after harvesting are very similar. In some cases, artificial pollination is required for higher yields (rainy summers or lack of pollinating insects).

Shelf life

Zucchini has a very limited fresh shelf life.

The most delicious zucchini is young, unripe, with soft seeds that have just begun to form. It is eaten with the skin, raw or after cooking; the flesh is tender and light in color.

Pumpkin, on the contrary, is eaten only when it is fully ripe, when the pulp is filled with sweet juice and the seeds are covered with a dense shell. Its surface is rough and has an armored layer, thanks to which the fruits are stored for a long time. The pulp is usually used for making desserts, salads, and added to meat.

The nutritional value of pumpkin is higher. Pumpkin oil is extracted from the seeds and is used in cosmetology, medicine and cooking.

Definitions

Zucchini

- a herbaceous annual plant of the pumpkin family. The fruits are oblong in shape and can be green, yellow or white. Zucchini came to us from America, where initially only its seeds were eaten. It was brought to Europe from the New World in the 16th century. Then no one even thought that the fruits of the strange plant could be eaten, and zucchini was grown in botanical gardens. Today it is difficult to imagine Mediterranean cuisine without this vegetable. It is believed that the Italians were the first to add unripe zucchini to dishes. This happened in the 18th century. Today, the vegetable is actively used in cooking. Young fruits are eaten raw with the skin, adding them to various salads. Larger zucchini is subjected to heat treatment: they are stewed, fried, baked. They are also good as a side dish for meat and fish dishes.

Pumpkin

– herbaceous annual plant, melon crop. Produces large spherical or oval fruits, predominantly orange in color. However, there are pumpkins of combined shades. Mexico is considered to be the homeland of the plant, because it was in the Oaxaca Valley that it first appeared about 8 thousand years ago. Initially, only nutritious seeds were eaten. A little later, the pumpkin spread north to the valleys of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The plant was brought to Europe by the Spaniards. In the 16th century it gained popularity in the Old World. The leading positions in pumpkin cultivation are occupied by Russia, India and China. Ripe fruits are eaten both boiled, fried and baked, and fresh. Juice is squeezed out of them, mashed potatoes, caviar, jam and marmalade are made.

Meet the pumpkin and the boar. I'll tell you how their parents were cross-pollinated, and is it possible to eat it?

This year there are two varieties of zucchini growing in my garden - regular white-fruited and roller. This is what they should have looked like ideally:

I also grow 2 varieties of pumpkin. The seeds of the first grade were given to me by an acquaintance who got them in Italy the year before last. He doesn’t know the name of the variety, but according to the description, these pumpkins should be flattened in shape, green in color with white spots. Something like this:

According to a friend, this pumpkin tastes like potatoes and is good for making soups. Last year he received a bountiful harvest of this pumpkin (fruits weighing up to 8 kg).

I got the second pumpkin from the previous owner of the plot. I found the seeds in the barn, wrapped in paper. The package was marked “unnamed.”

From these seeds last year I got a good harvest of delicious sweet pumpkin, which had melon notes in the aroma. The pumpkin was yellowish-white, and the inside was orange, elongated in shape. Something like this:

The distance between zucchini and pumpkin is not small

About 10 meters to one and about 15 meters to the second bed. But apparently this is not enough to prevent cross-pollination. Although last year I also grew zucchini and pumpkins close to each other, but there was no such effect.

Perhaps cross-pollination occurred last year, and the signs of the hybrid appeared only this year (I used pumpkin seeds from last year’s harvest).

When the first dark green fruit began to form on the pumpkin vines, I was a little surprised and decided that when ripe it would change color to yellow. Not so. The green monster grew up to 5 kg and simply fell off the vine, breaking it off with its own weight (the pumpkin grew under the vineyard).

Meanwhile, something strange began to happen among the zucchini. Firstly, white, green and yellow fruits began to ripen on one bush (this is where there should have been just white fruit).

On the other, which is called a roller, fruits of a shape corresponding to the variety began to ripen and others, strange, round in shape with an elongated tip.

In general, the zucchini began to show signs of a pumpkin, and the pumpkin -
signs of a zucchini.
I didn't know that this even happened. A mutated zucchini is not so bad, because only some fruits look like a pumpkin. Basically, they were formed normal, according to the varietal form. The fact that they came out in different colors is nonsense.

But this happened with the pumpkin: a lot of ovaries formed on the nameless yellow one, but all the following fruits also began to form elongated and green.

And that pumpkin, which was supposed to be green, formed several lumpy yellowish fruits (I haven’t tried the fruits, they are still too small).

What's tasteful

The taste of hybrids is the main problem. Pumpkin

It turned out with a very hard, thick crust, which has to be cut off before cooking. The seeds also have to be removed, as they are a bit harsh. It tastes almost no different from zucchini, but it takes longer to cook.

The color inside, oddly enough, remained the original orange. The aroma is closer to zucchini.

It is noteworthy that the kernels of the zucchini seeds turned out to be very tasty, they are sweet and juicy. But pumpkin seeds don’t taste much like pumpkin seeds. The taste seems diluted and the aroma is weak.

I decided not to use the seeds from the resulting hybrids. It's a pity for the pumpkin - it was very productive, unpretentious and tasty.

Have you ever achieved anything worthwhile when cross-pollinating pumpkin and zucchini?

How to distinguish zucchini seedlings from pumpkin seedlings

Their leaves are large, palmate, pentagonal in shape, while those of pumpkins are round, with teeth along the edges.

Special attention should be paid to the taste of the fruit. In the case of zucchini, it can be called quite bland

That is why this vegetable is often eaten in combination with other ingredients. Pumpkin has a very rich sweetish taste, slightly reminiscent of melon. It makes excellent cereals, juices and desserts. Despite the fact that zucchini is of great benefit to our body, pumpkin is significantly superior to it in this parameter. The pulp of the fruit contains many vitamins along with silicon, phosphorus, potassium, nicotinic acid, calcium, iron, etc. The seeds are used as an anthelmintic, and the oil obtained from them is rich in unsaturated fatty acids and is used for metabolic disorders, in order to speed up regeneration of liver tissue, mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, prostate gland.

Let's summarize what is the difference between zucchini and pumpkin.

Growing zucchini using seedlings allows you to get an earlier and more abundant harvest. The start of work depends on the climatic conditions in the region; on average, planting begins in mid-to-late April. At the same time, pumpkin seeds and other related crops are prepared. It’s not uncommon for seeds to get mixed up, and gardeners don’t know how to distinguish between zucchini and pumpkin seedlings. Plants at the initial stage of the growing season are very similar to each other, so as not to wait for the fruits to appear, you should study the distinctive characteristics of the seedlings.

How to grow zucchini

For a high-quality harvest, it is necessary to carefully select varieties, since fakes may be found on the market. Selection criteria depend on cultivation in certain climatic conditions. When the choice is made, it is necessary to begin preparing the seeds for planting. When using your own seeds, you need to treat them against fungus.

The seeds are poured with hot water at a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius. Soak for a day. Then it is necessary to create a stressful environment; for this, the seeds are immediately placed in cold water for several minutes. Prepare the soil yourself. Sand is added to the soil from the summer cottage. For better thermal insulation, dilute with humus. You can also buy ready-made soil, this will make the process easier and save time.

Early ripe vegetable

The time range when a gardener begins to plant seedlings is very wide. Zucchini is an early-ripening vegetable, so its sprouts can be planted in open ground at two weeks of age. You can plant zucchini seeds in separate pots or in a common container. Peat pots are best suited for this purpose. They will prevent damage to the root system when transplanting to the garden bed.

Important! If you transplant seedlings from a common container, there is a possibility of destroying the rhizome. This will be very stressful for the plant and can slow down its growth for a long time.

It is best to place the seedlings on the sunny side of the house. This will allow her to develop correctly and quickly. The soil must be loosened and young zucchini seedlings must be watered regularly.

It is important not to forget to feed with light fertilizers

Some time before planting on the site, the sprouts begin to harden, increasing the time spent in the open air. This is done so that the plants better adapt to different climatic conditions. Relocating seedlings is not difficult. Seedlings are planted in dry soil to a depth of 4-5 cm and watered with sufficient water.

Growing zucchini is not a difficult or time-consuming process. You just need to understand the varieties and basic rules for growing seedlings. You should also learn to distinguish seedlings of different crops so as not to confuse zucchini with other vegetables.

Melon, watermelon, cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, squash - it’s hard to imagine that plants so different in appearance are representatives of the same family. And in terms of taste, they differ significantly from each other. Is it possible to compare the juicy sweet pulp of a watermelon with the absolutely bland squash? It’s not for nothing that the first fruit is considered an excellent dessert, and the second is much more often used in pickles for the winter. However, in our article we will not talk about them at all. Let's talk about the difference between zucchini and pumpkin.

How to distinguish between zucchini and pumpkin seedlings

Preparatory manipulations with seeds are the same for all pumpkin crops. They need to be calibrated, warmed up, disinfected, and soaked. Dressing occurs in a solution of fungicide or potassium permanganate. The seeds are placed in a fabric bag and dipped into the mixture for 20-30 minutes. For soaking, use clean water or a solution of a growth stimulator. The swollen seeds are planted in separate pots or cups with a volume of 200-250 ml. Place 2 seeds in each container, deepening them 2-3 cm.

The soil for seedlings should be loose and fertile. Its components are:

Advice. To make seedlings appear faster, the pot is placed in a plastic bag to create greenhouse conditions.

The first shoots appear after 3-5 days. If both seeds germinate, the stronger sprout is left, the second one is removed. For the first week they should be kept in cool conditions with temperatures of 18-20°C during the day and 15-16°C at night. This environment prevents the stems from stretching. Then the seedlings are placed in a permanent place. She needs to be provided with good lighting for 12-14 hours a day. The optimal temperature for growth is 22-24°C. Detailed instructions in the article “The key to the harvest is the correct cultivation of zucchini seedlings. What do we recommend?

As the soil dries, the plants are watered with warm water and fed with fertilizers 2 times. They use “Nitrophoska”, urea, mullein solution. Seedlings are transplanted into open ground at the age of 25-30 days. It is impossible to keep it longer; overgrown seedlings do not adapt well in open ground; some die without taking root.

With the appearance of leaves, it’s time to figure out what pumpkin and zucchini seedlings look like. The seedlings appear similar, but upon careful comparison the differences are noticeable.

Zucchini seedlings

Description of zucchini seedlings:

• The cotyledon leaves are elongated and light green.
• The first true leaf (and the rest) have raised venation and jagged edges of the plate.
• As it grows, the stem becomes long and thin, the color is pale green.

With a lack of light, seedlings stretch out and become unsuitable for planting. To avoid the problem, plants are placed on the windowsill under the sun's rays. The lack of lighting on the north side is compensated by installing fluorescent lamps. One reason for stretching is placing containers close together. More space should be allocated for seedlings.

Pumpkin seedlings

What pumpkin seedlings look like:

• The cotyledon leaves of the pumpkin are wide and round in shape. The plate is painted in a rich green color, the veining is light.
• The stem is short and strong.
• The structure of the leaves is dense and rough; very quickly they overtake zucchini in size.

Advice. If seedlings are grown in transparent cups, then it is worth considering the root system. In pumpkin it is more voluminous and developed.

After planting in open ground, the crops will begin to actively grow. As the plant matures, a compact zucchini bush or long vines of pumpkin are formed. This stage is not always the final one, because there are climbing varieties of zucchini. Only the appearance of fruits will confirm the guesses. Round yellow or orange vegetables are pumpkins, oblong, green or white ones are zucchini.

But not only can the two pumpkin crops be confused; sometimes novice farmers have to figure out how the seeds of zucchini and melon differ. The heat-loving melon crop is grown in open ground only in the southern regions. Its seeds are narrow and long, yellow-brown in color. More often than not, plants get confused in the seedling phase. Having planted seeds in identical pots without a signature, it is difficult to discern where each crop sprouted. How to distinguish zucchini seedlings from melons? It's worth waiting for the real leaves to appear.

The cotyledon leaves are narrower and longer than those of zucchini. The surface is smooth without obvious veining. Real leaves have a curved plate and are wrapped in a bowl shape. Also, melon seedlings are characterized by an edge of short, thin hairs. It covers the petioles and the underside of the leaves.

In order not to confuse the seedlings

1. Hand-collected seeds are packed in paper bags and the type of vegetable, its variety and year of collection must be labeled. The seeds are suitable for sowing for 6-8 years.
2. Zucchini and pumpkin seedlings are planted in containers that differ in appearance. Considering that the root system of pumpkin is stronger than that of zucchini, you can use ordinary plastic cups for it, while zucchini is better planted in peat pots or tablets.
3. The pots must be signed, especially if the seedlings are grown in the same room.
4. In order not to confuse the seedlings, the seeds are planted in each pot one at a time. If a mistake was made at the seed selection stage, this will allow you to avoid the growth of different crops in the same container in the future.
5. Vegetables can be most accurately identified at the stage of appearance of cotyledon leaves. If a mistake was made during seed selection, relabel the pots.
6. Seedlings of zucchini and pumpkins are never grown side by side, even indoors, since they may have time to cross-pollinate before transplanting into the ground. Labeling avoids confusion and guarantees the purity of the variety.

Learning to distinguish zucchini seeds and seedlings from pumpkin

Very often, after collecting seeds on their own, the vegetable grower forgets to label the bags. How, then, can you figure out where each seed is and what differences they have? Main characteristics of zucchini seeds

1. The seeds have an elongated oval shape.
2. Their skin is thinner.
3. The color is paler, without a yellowish tint.
4. If you squeeze the seed between your fingers, it easily opens into 2 halves.

Main characteristics of pumpkin seeds

1. The seeds are round in shape.
2. Their shell is rougher.
3. They are also yellow in color.
4. Pumpkin seeds are difficult to crush with finger pressure.
5. They are much larger in size than zucchini seeds.
6. Pumpkin seeds germinate slightly faster than zucchini seeds.

In order not to confuse the seeds of these plants, immediately after collecting and drying they must be placed in individual bags indicating the crop and date of collection. This simple technique will avoid confusion when sowing.

To understand which particular crop seedlings are growing on your site, you need to take a closer look at the young plants. Each type has its own distinctive characteristics.

1. Zucchini seedlings have longer cotyledon leaves.
2. The first real leaf is carved and thin.
3. The stems of the seedlings are elongated and light green in color.

The main differences between pumpkin seedlings

1. Pumpkin seedlings have a thicker, squat stem.
2. It has a rich green color.
3. The leaves are larger and rougher to the touch.

All of the above characteristics cannot serve as a 100% guarantee of differences between cultures. For example, some varieties of zucchini may have large, rough leaves. To be not bushy, but to trudge like a pumpkin. In this case, to be completely confident in your conclusions, it is best to wait until the fruits appear on the plants.

Difference between cucumber and melon seedlings

Young bushes of cucumbers and melons are quite similar. The seedlings are easy to confuse, especially for novice gardeners. You can make a mistake not only when buying seedlings from an inattentive seller, but also when growing them yourself. After all, the seeds of cucumbers and melons are also similar. Therefore, do not forget to always write what and where your seedlings are planted.

According to the shape of the leaves

In fact, the leaves of these two crops have significant differences. If you look closely, they are easy to spot even for a novice gardener. Look at the foliage photo.

Cucumber leaves are elongated, bright green, and fleshy. At the edge, where the main core ends, there is a small notch. The leaves are entire, pentagonal, with jagged edges. Melon has rounded foliage, much thinner than cucumber. If you touch it, it is very soft.

How to distinguish by smell

Cucumbers can be distinguished from melons by their aroma. If you pick a leaf from a bush and rub it in your hands, a characteristic cucumber smell will appear.

How to distinguish a pumpkin from a zucchini by leaves

Zucchini is a bushy plant with an erect, thick stem. Their leaves form a spreading, dense rosette above the fruits and flowers. The pumpkin has a powerful above-ground part, consisting of a main creeping stem and side shoots (lashes). How are plant leaves different? Pumpkins have a rich green hue, their shape is most often round, but can be heart-shaped or five-lobed. Their petioles are 12-30 cm long and arranged alternately. The entire plant organ is covered with hard hairs or spines.

To determine the crop, information about the pumpkin variety is necessary; the shape of the leaf blade depends on the varietal characteristics:

• hard-barked - five-lobed;
• large-fruited – round, cup-shaped, slightly pitted;
• nutmeg – heart-shaped with a noticeable neckline.

Information. The foliage area of ​​one plant is up to 30 m2, this allows it to accumulate a supply of water and nutrients.

The zucchini leaves are located on the right, they are colored several tones lighter, and the venation is more pronounced. The shape of the plate is five-lobed, moderately and strongly rugged. The edges are jagged. Has rough pubescence. The most dissected blades of the leaf blade are found in green-fruited vegetables - zucchini. The arrangement is sequential, the petioles are long and erect. The leaf blade is large, growing to a size of 20 cm. Detailed information about popular vegetables is in the article “Zucchini and zucchini - what’s the difference?”

Information. One of the differences is the appearance of 6-7 leaves of branched tendrils in the axils of the pumpkin, spreading throughout the garden.

Modern hybrids and zucchini are distinguished by a pattern of white or silver spots on the surface of the leaf plate.

Plants belonging to the same family are easily distinguished by their fruits. In pumpkin they are round, usually large. The color is yellow or orange, the bark is hard, often embossed. The pulp is juicy, sweetish with a brighter and more saturated color than the skin. Inside there is a loose seed cavity. Zucchini fruits are cylindrical, oval or pear-shaped. The classic color is light green, but there are varieties with yellow and dark green bark. The pulp is always light. The taste of the vegetable is weak, the consistency is elastic. At the moment of technical ripeness, the bark is easily cut off.

Distinctive features of zucchini

1. The fruits are elongated oval in shape.
2. Their color can be yellow, green, and there are also varieties with striped fruits.
3. No distinctive pumpkin smell.
4. The taste of the fruit is fresher.
5. Plants of this crop begin to bear fruit 40 days after sowing.
6. Fruiting is extended and continues until the first frost.
7. The plant has a bush form and only in rare cases does it form lashes, which are significantly smaller in size than pumpkin ones.
8. Only young unripe fruits are eaten.
9. Under the skin of the fruit there is no cortical layer, characteristic of pumpkin.
10. When sowing, holes with zucchini are placed according to a 1m×1m pattern.

Seed difference

You can remember what zucchini seeds look like in one great way - they are longer than pumpkin seeds, just like the zucchini itself is different from a pumpkin.

The main characteristics of the seeds of these crops and the differences:

• zucchini's are more elongated, oval, while pumpkin's are rounded, with a less noticeable “nose”;
• zucchini is whiter, and has a whiteness with some coating, like plaster;
• pumpkins are softer, their skin is easily scraped off with a fingernail, and does not become like a bark, like pumpkins. The skin of pumpkin seeds, if you scrape it a little, comes off in a hard thin layer, like an eggshell;
• if you slightly soak the seeds in water, the zucchini seeds remain lighter than the pumpkin seeds, which clearly turn yellow.

If you are saving your seeds for seedlings for next year, store them in homemade paper bags. And before drying the seeds, do not rinse them excessively so that a little dry pulp remains on the seeds, this will help sort out any confusion.

After collecting the seeds, you can wash them and leave a little pulp for distinctiveness.

Seedling difference

Few people know how to distinguish emerged seedlings by their first cotyledon leaves and a full-fledged first leaf.

Even experienced gardeners rarely pay attention to the differences, but if you take a close look once, remember them, and this question will never arise again.

Seedlings of crops are different:

• along the cotyledon leaves - continue the shape of the seed. Zucchini has narrow and longer ones, pumpkin has the opposite. If you have both cultures, putting them side by side, you will immediately understand who is who;
• Pumpkin seedlings are always stronger and denser. Less prone to stretching and darker;
• pumpkin seedlings are tougher and more powerful;
• zucchini leaves are more dissected, thinner when exposed, in contrast to the second crop, the leaves of which are round and dense;
• The first leaf of the squash does not have a sharp angle like a squash leaf.

Why do zucchini and pumpkins cross-pollinate and how to avoid it?

If these plants are planted in one bed, then... nothing will happen: good fruits will grow. But if you collect seeds from them, then next year pumpkins and pumpkin squashes will grow. For some reason they turn out worse than normal ones. That is, not sweet zucchini will grow, but tasteless, thick-skinned small pumpkins.

Therefore, the first rule of a gardener if he is going to save his seeds: do not plant these relatives close to each other. To prevent cross-pollination from occurring, you need to grow pumpkins and zucchini (and their different varieties) at a far distance, ideally 80-100 m, that is, in neighboring fields. But in practice, the distance can be much less, 10-20 meters.

Since summer residents do not even have this opportunity, it is better not to collect your own seeds, but to buy them every year. In this case, you can plant the seedlings very close, even in neighboring beds. So it’s not at all necessary to know in advance what is growing: the fruits will grow - look. And if the seeds of pollinated monsters are sown, you will never know.

So you should not buy pumpkin seedlings, because you can easily be deceived. And yet, there are certain signs by which seedlings differ. So if you have sown normal, non-pollinated seeds and the cups with seedlings are mixed up, then there is hope of distinguishing similar plants.

Neighborhood of cultures

Both plants tend to cross-pollinate. If you plant them side by side, you will soon notice that they change color and shape. It will be too late to replant them, because... You can completely lose the fruit.

The optimal distance between these crops is 70-80 m. They cannot be planted in a common garden bed. If you collect seeds from these vegetables and plant them next season, the result will not be the one you expect.

The pumpkins will be tasteless, lighter in color than desired, and elongated. All this is typical for zucchini, which will also change significantly. They will acquire a hard peel, a round shape, and a different color of the flesh.

The seeds will also show significant changes. It will be something between the two types. You shouldn't experiment like that, because it won't lead to anything good. Ultimately, you will not get the desired vegetable, and you will have to buy new seeds.

If you want to grow delicious, healthy vegetables, follow all planting rules.

Landing Features

You can plant vegetables nearby, but it is still undesirable.

Especially if you plan to obtain seeds for planting next year. These plants cross pollinate very easily.

There won't be much change in the first year. But the next time you can get some kind of hybrid with thick skin and rough pulp instead of tender zucchini. Or a mutant white pumpkin.

Therefore, there should be a decent distance between the beds and it is advisable to find a third crop. If you buy seeds every season, you don’t have to worry. Joint planting will not affect the quality of the harvest. The plants grow and bear fruit well.