Mislabeled transplants

[Daniel Prince]

This year we bought a pot of cucumbers that were supposed to be lemon cucumbers and a six pack of eggplants that were supposed to be American type. The cucumbers turned out to be pickling type and the eggplants turned out to be Japanese eggplants.

Last year we had the same problem with the eggplants. A few years ago, we bought a six pack of cucumbers that were supposed to be lemon cucumbers and they turned out to be Japanese cucumbers. One year we bought a pot with three plants that were supposed to be yellow crookneck squash and one of the plants was a scalloped type squash.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Why does this happen? Are customers accidently switching the ID stakes? Are children deliberately switching the ID stakes as a prank? Are the companies that grow the transplants careless?

If it is customers or children switching the ID stakes, is there any way we can get the stores/producers to use glue on ID labels on the pots/six packs instead of the stakes? Thank you in advance for all replies.

[TQ]

The only foolproof solution to avoid the disappointment that comes from mislabeled transplants is to sow your own seeds, either directly in the garden or in flats under lights.

Cucumbers are easy to start in the garden. Buy the kind you want and stick them in the ground when the danger of frost has passed.

Eggplant are a little harder b/c the seeds are smaller, so you might consider starting them inside under inexpensive fluro-type shop lights.

[farmerdill]

It sometimes happens that customers will deliberately switch labels or plants. Pick a pack up and look at them than place back in the wrong tray. Sometimes, the growers are careless, particularly those using generic names on thier plants. I think that you mean by American eggplant, you expect something like Black Beauty, (big oval shape) and that you are getting Japanese ( long skinny fruits) Unfortunately eggplants vary from big round oval to long skinny types with lots of intermediate types. All the types are available from American,Chinese, Dutch, Israeli, Indian, Japanese, and Thai companies. While it would be worth your while to learn the variety names for the type that you are looking for, it is faily easy to differntiate between the plants of the Black Beauty types and the Ichiban types. Most of the oval ones like Black beauty will have green foliage and stems. Ichiban, Millionaire and the like will have a purple tint to both the foliage and the stems. The latter are hybrids and are usually more expensive also. Don't know any way to distinguish between cucumber plants at that stage. It is much easier to start them from seeds anyhow.

[sueb]

Actually, I've had it happen frequently when planting from seed! It's just as hard to tell a bell pepper seed from a hot pepper seed as it is to tell the plants apart. One year my pumpkins turned out to be strange yellow gourds.

Susan B.

[Daniel Prince]

Were these commercially grown and marketed seed in the little packets?

[sueb]

These two examples were actually commercially grown seed. I have had it happen with seeds that I've saved - probably due to my innate lack of organization.

Susan B.