# Is butternut squash green before ripening?



## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

I cant figure out what this squash growing in my garden is, if not butternut. 
Something cross pollinated? 
If you want to see a picture of the Mystery Squash, check out my blog.
http://four-mile-farm.blogspot.com/
Thanks!


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## devittjl (Jun 24, 2004)

Looks like butternut to me. I usually do not pick mine until August/September at the earliest. Seem so me that the change color as they mature


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## Bookwyrm (Jun 3, 2009)

It does look very green though it may ripen to tan. Was this grown from saved seed? If it doesn't look like it's going to change colour, it could be cross pollinated with another variety. Squash is very prone to crossing, and you can end up with some very interesting combinations.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

It's been a while since I planted butternut squash, but I don't recall them having stripes! I'm thinking it must have crossed with another squash, but that doesn't mean it won't be good to eat. I once had spaghetti squash and zuchinni cross and they were fine to eat.


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## Jerry in MN (Dec 2, 2007)

Looks like butternut to me too. Last year I grew Waltham butternuts and that's the way they looked. The stripes became less and less visible as the fruits ripened to tan.


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## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

hmmmmm.....
Well, at first I was all excited. YAY! It's butternut. 
...then, I was confused. 
Is it, or isnt it? 
lol
The only other squash growing in the garden is Acorn squash.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

My Butternut squash always has the green stripe & it lightens as it ripens to the tanish color. I don't pick mine till the vine dies or atleast the end of August or into September.

I had acorn & butternut squash running all over the garden together last year & never noticed any sign of cross pollination. This year I have Butternut, buttercup, acorn & sweet dumpling all around the same area of the garden so I hope they do well.


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## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

Thanks Katie, that's encouraging! So, with winter squash, leaving it on the vine the way you described... does that mean that it only produces just THAT MUCH? I mean, with summer squash, I can pick from it every day and it keeps growing more and more for months on end. I take it that is not the case with the winter squash? I am a little worried about bugs being a problem if I leave it out there until August or so...

I've got some yellow summer squash that was planted late and is just starting to get flowers on it, in my same garden patch. Is this going to be a problem? 

How can *"regular people"* grow summer and winter squash without cross pollination? I have to have my gardens HIGH fenced to keep deer out, so it is very hard for me to come up with extra garden space. 

We have a pet deer, which makes it even harder. I do have an area where I could plant more, that the goats cant get into, but the pet deer goes in there all the time. 

WE REALLY LOVE YELLOW SUMMER SQUASH!! What to do??


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

Cross pollination won't matter unless you are saving seed. It is the seed that will be a new kind of plant, not this year's crop. Whatever you planted this year is what you will get this year.


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## nandmsmom (Mar 3, 2006)

Also remember that they will only cross with members of the same family. I have 4 different kinds of squash in my garden. None of them will cross, because they are all from different families. You just need to know the latin name, like c moschata etc.


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## Ark (Oct 5, 2004)

AHA. I get it now. 
Thank very much to you all! 

...off to research latin names. :bow:


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## Beaners (Feb 23, 2005)

Even with different latin names, some of them can cross. It is tricky, some of them will cross but others won't. I think there is a good explanation of it in the Carla Emery book.

I will be hand-pollinating anything that I need to save seed from this year.

Kayleigh


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