I've come across that quirky myth about not planting watermelons next to cucumbers because you might end up with a watermelon that's actually a cucumber inside. Obviously, that doesn't align with how hybridization really works! I'm curious about why this myth is so widespread. I wonder if part of it comes from people confusing unripe watermelons with cucumbers since both can have white seeds and a similar green inside. It's tricky to tell when watermelons are ripe since the usual signs can be misleading. I can totally see someone thinking, 'Oh no, a cucumber must have pollinated my watermelon!' What do you all think? Any other ideas on where this myth might originate?
3 Answers
I think there's a lot of confusion about genetics at play here. People hear about cross pollination causing weird squash shapes in the first year but often overlook things like apple varieties that can cross-pollinate without resulting in hybrid fruits on the trees. It seems like folks just don’t get how plants work, which is totally understandable since they can be pretty mysterious.
People really seem to misinterpret cross pollination, thinking it immediately affects the fruit of the current year. In reality, it impacts the seeds inside the fruit, which can produce crossed plants in future seasons. This misunderstanding is so common that they start blaming other fruit problems on it as well, even when they might just have a normal fruit from a cross-pollinated volunteer plant.
I always thought that myth was more about not saving seeds from these plants. I guess some people genuinely believe they could end up with cucumbers from watermelon plants! It’s just wild how these misunderstandings spread.