# Squash shock!(cross pollination)



## cjean (May 1, 2007)

Today I brought in one of my baseball bat zucchinis to shred for winter stews. When I cut into it, I thought, "ew, it's all yellow". And the seeds were huge. 

Then, as I scraped the seeds out, I noticed that the flesh was all separating and fiber-ish. So, I decided to cook some up in the microwave and see if it was what I thought it was.

Yep, you guessed it. My spaghetti squash had crossed with my zukes, so now I have hard-skinned zucchinis that I might actually be able to USE as baseball bats! The flesh is good, stringy with a little mushiness. Buttery flavor.

Anyone else have good cross-pollination stories? A local newspaper once ran a story about a backyard compost pile that produced a tomato/watermelon vine and fruit. It was weird.


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## Head Roller (Sep 24, 2010)

DING DING DING.... you have made a light go on in my head!

I had a batch of what we called "mystery squash" pop out in my cabbage patch. I figured they must have come from compost.... so just for fun I transplanted them to their own hill to see what would come out....

What I got were darker green, rounder rather than larger hard skinned... things. They smell sort of like pumpkin.... and there were pumpkins in the hill next to it. I was thinking I would roast it and see what happens..... but i really thought i was just nuts ... i did not really realize that you could have a hybrid thing.

Now I am so curious I cant stand it....


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

ok are these Hybreds comming simply from the cross polination and the first fruit growing weird, or are these plants grown from seed saved from the year before that were from cross polination??


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## Head Roller (Sep 24, 2010)

Mine was a "mystery compost" squash... so I know nothing about it except my compost would have only had zucchini, spaghetti squash and/or pumpkin.


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## cjean (May 1, 2007)

Mine came from plants started from seed packages left over from last year. So, the cross pollination had to have come from this year's blossoms, since last year's plants were normal.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

you saved seeds from last year so that means that last years crops got cross polinated and then produced the hybred this year, if you save seeds from this season and plant next year who knows what might come out, just like Genetics in animals last year you had two pure varietys that crossed now you have an F1 cross,


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

cjean said:


> Mine came from plants started from seed packages left over from last year. So, the cross pollination had to have come from this year's blossoms, since last year's plants were normal.


Hate to burst your balloon but that is 100% impossible. With all cucurbita, the fruit is formed _before_ pollination. No matter where the pollen comes from, it can not change something which is already formed. Pollen only affects the seeds for the next generation. 

Martin


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## ksfarmer (Apr 28, 2007)

Paquebot said:


> Hate to burst your balloon but that is 100% impossible. With all cucurbita, the fruit is formed _before_ pollination. No matter where the pollen comes from, it can not change something which is already formed. Pollen only affects the seeds for the next generation.
> 
> Martin


:goodjob: YES


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

cjean said:


> Today I brought in one of my baseball bat zucchinis to shred for winter stews. When I cut into it, I thought, "ew, it's all yellow". And the seeds were huge.
> 
> Then, as I scraped the seeds out, I noticed that the flesh was all separating and fiber-ish. So, I decided to cook some up in the microwave and see if it was what I thought it was.


That's just how zucchinis look when they get big and old.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

I had vines come up where I had,pumpkins, acorn and spaghetti squash last year. I let them grow along the garden fence and draped them over the fence the whole summer. They produced some regular Acorn sq. and some kind of Acorn pumpkin cross. Nice and round about the size of a soccer ball with groves in it. Dark green, I kept waiting for them to turn orange. They are not going to, underneath they have that yellow that a Ripe Acorn gets. Looks like I'll cook one up.


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## cjean (May 1, 2007)

Paquebot said:


> Hate to burst your balloon but that is 100% impossible. With all cucurbita, the fruit is formed _before_ pollination. No matter where the pollen comes from, it can not change something which is already formed. Pollen only affects the seeds for the next generation.
> 
> Martin


Oh, yeah, I was thinking about that last night...realized it made no sense! 



> That's just how zucchinis look when they get big and old.


I ALWAYS let my zukes get big and old, every year, so I can shred them. They have never looked like this before. And I cooked it - fine strings, just like spaghetti squash. And bright yellow.

And, I didn't save any seeds from last year. They came from a store package...the same ones I planted last year, which were normal. Maybe some were cross pollinated from the producer, and they got in the package too?


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

More than likely the fruits last year and this year were at different stages of maturity. That would account for the different textures despite being the same variety.

Martin


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## cjean (May 1, 2007)

hmmm. well, I guess I can't argue, since you aren't here to experience it, but....it's not just the texture. It's the flavor, the color, everything. It is spaghetti squash with a zucchini shape. Even the goats and sheep were fighting over it, and they HATE zucchini.


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## Use Less (Nov 8, 2007)

I had three varieties of winter squash 3 years ago that must have crossed, because we got some very nice squash from a volunteer the next year. We liked it so well I saved seed & planted. Haven't put in other winter squashes, and it seems to be staying true. Sue


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Use Less said:


> I had three varieties of winter squash 3 years ago that must have crossed, because we got some very nice squash from a volunteer the next year. We liked it so well I saved seed & planted. Haven't put in other winter squashes, and it seems to be staying true. Sue


Your squash should stay true for as long as you don't cross it with something else. They aren't like tomatoes which carry so many factors that it may take 5 or more generations to become somewhat stable. Your saved seed came from a single seed which was already stable. I had a fairly decent acorn and delicata cross going for a few years but lost them in 2006 due to both vine borers and powdery mildew.

Martin


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## PaKoeikan (Aug 11, 2020)

cjean said:


> Mine came from plants started from seed packages left over from last year. So, the cross pollination had to have come from this year's blossoms, since last year's plants were normal.


The results from cross polinazation only shows up the following year from the seeds. The fruits dna is already embedded for the current season. When it is polinated it changes the dna of the seeds of the fruit grown.
I had spaghetti squash and zucchini in close proximity last year. I had a mystery squash grow and is definitely a mix of both. Haven't tried to see if edible. Not sure if I should treat it as zucchini and pick earlier or wait as if spaghetti squash.


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