SQuash CRossing...On Purpose! Let's all start doing it!

[897tgigvib]

Hey everyone, howzabout we start a running program of crossing Squashes on purpose, every year,

just for the FuN oF iT

It can be like another contest besides biggest pumpkin to make the most unique squash.

Like, what do you get if you put dills atlantic giant pollen on a turk's turban female flower, wait, and grow the seeds next yesr? A 50 pound turk's turban all colorful, but lots of beige? Then, what if ya cross that with a candyroaster? a long wide beige squash with a colorful flower end? wellp, needs some bumps! cross that with a marina di chioggia?

 

[Ridgerunner]

These were not done on purpose, but the seeds came from a Delicata.

I think the big one was a cross with a straight-necked summer squash. I cooked it as if it were a winter squash and it was pretty good. Some others I had like that did not store worth a darn though.

I don't know what the Delicata crossed with to get the other one. It's been a few years and it was pretty forgettable. The colors are not that far off for a Delicata but the shape and taste were not right.

I guess you hit some and you miss some.

 

[journey11]

Waltham butternut crossed with I-don't-know-what. Not any good for eating, but I used them in my fall display last year.

 

[desertlady]

How does that work? are 2 different plants planted together (or too close together) for that results?

 

[catjac1975]

Looks a lot like a bottle gourd.

[url]http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/uploads/thumbs/6486_imgp5190_web.jpg[/url]

Waltham butternut crossed with I-don't-know-what. Not any good for eating, but I used them in my fall display last year.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Heh, tried out my spaghetti squash from the garden tonight. I saved seeds from a storebought spaghetti squash, and wasnt sure if it would be normal...i had 5 HUGE squash from one plant, so we roasted one tonight to make sure they were worth saving. They were delicious!! Better than any other spaghetti squash i've had before. I cut them in half and took the seeds out, then put a bunch of butter and salt in, and cooked for a couple hours. Took them out and stirred up the innards with fresh grated parmesan. Divine!

 

[hoodat]

How does that work? are 2 different plants planted together (or too close together) for that results?

They don't have to be close together. If you want to be sure what was crossed with what, hand pollinate from one to the other and keep track. The same thing can be done with melons. In fact many of our favorite melons started out as crosses. You have to do a lot of culling if you want to "set" the strain so the seeds breed true.

 

[897tgigvib]

With the Squashes cross pollination is easy as pie. With the melons it's a bit trickier simply because the flowers are smaller.

Male squash flowers are usually the more numerous. Male flowers are on a flower stem. Female flowers have the immature squash right behind them. Ya simply pick a male flower carefully and kinda pull the petals off to make doing the deed easier. Or you can just pull the petals back. The orange ball shaped thing in the middle with orangish yellow moist dust on it is called the stamen. That dust is the pollen.

You will choose a good female flower that is just opening, so around 9 am is a good time to do this.

Any time of day will work, but the bugs might have done some pollinating. If that happens, some of the seeds might not be the cross you intended, so try for when the flower just opened. If a bit early, it is not cheating to very carefully help the female flower open.

Inside the female flower is a several parted thing in the middle, at the same kind of place that stamen is in the male flower. It kinda has grooves in it. This is called the stigma.

What you're gonna do is put the pollen onto the stigma by lightly rolling the male flower's stamen on the female flower's stigma.

After doing that some might want to close the female flower's petals back up using a twist tie from a bread bag or a garbage bag. Those are bigger and easier. If you don't do this part you might get a few seeds pollinated by bugs from an unintended male flower.

Or you could remove all the other male flowers for a couple days to stop unwanted pollinations.

There are a couple things to know about Squash:

SQUASH COME IN 4 SPECIES
Normally, one species will not cross with another species.

1) pepo; pepo squashes are the regular zucchini, regular jack o lantern pumpkins, spaghetti squash. patty pans, most summer squashes such as crookneck and straightneck, acorn squash, and some others i'm sure im forgetting.oh yea, some small gourds count.

2) argyospyra, or however they spell it; these are all the true cushaws

3) maxima; big max and dills atlantic giants, banana, candyroaster, turks turbans, hubbards, chioggia, and a whole bunch of others. this is a very diverse species.

4) moschata; all the true butternuts, tromboncino, kikuza, musquee de provence, some oriental pumpkins, seminole pumpkin, and others.

(i hear tell some outfit in south america can cross ceretain maximas with certain moschata, and for it to make fruit, it has to have a special pollinator.)

It is ok to do your own version of pollinating. you may well have a better way.

:bee

 

[lesa]

Pics of my "pumpkins" coming soon! I do love to see what mother nature develops!