volunteer squash

rxkeith · September 17, 2010

volunteer squash is always a crapshoot due to their high rate of cross pollenating. i had a few come up that i let grow since they weren't really in the way, or at least started out that way. one was a summer crook neck squash that started out green and bumpy. the mature fruit is a yellow warty thing about 1 & 1/2 ft long. this was a good one. first to fruit. saving seeds to see what happens next year.

second one is a red kuri type i just tried tonight. flesh was pale yellow, moist, on the sweet side. some strings to it almost like a spaghetti squash. decent flavor. not sure if i want to save seeds.

a third one is a butter cup offspring, haven't tried it yet.

the monster vine that was growing turned out to be a pumpkin. some enterprising rodent carried seeds from last years pumpkin that was growing outside the garden into the fenced area.

has anyone else grown out volunteer squash?
any winners?
any losers?

keith

Tormato · September 18, 2010

Keith,

I had a good friend down the street give me their volunteer this year. It had the size and shape of Buttercup (without the blossom end). The color was orange with light orange streaks. The flavor was comparable to Buttercup, also.

The only problem I had was in processing it. It was so dense, that I first had to chop it fine, then run it through with an electric hand mixer, and finish it off with a food processor.

Gary

September 17, 2010	#1
rxkeith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Back in da U.P. Posts: 1,839	volunteer squash volunteer squash is always a crapshoot due to their high rate of cross pollenating. i had a few come up that i let grow since they weren't really in the way, or at least started out that way. one was a summer crook neck squash that started out green and bumpy. the mature fruit is a yellow warty thing about 1 & 1/2 ft long. this was a good one. first to fruit. saving seeds to see what happens next year. second one is a red kuri type i just tried tonight. flesh was pale yellow, moist, on the sweet side. some strings to it almost like a spaghetti squash. decent flavor. not sure if i want to save seeds. a third one is a butter cup offspring, haven't tried it yet. the monster vine that was growing turned out to be a pumpkin. some enterprising rodent carried seeds from last years pumpkin that was growing outside the garden into the fenced area. has anyone else grown out volunteer squash? any winners? any losers? keith

September 18, 2010	#2
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,959	Keith, I had a good friend down the street give me their volunteer this year. It had the size and shape of Buttercup (without the blossom end). The color was orange with light orange streaks. The flavor was comparable to Buttercup, also. The only problem I had was in processing it. It was so dense, that I first had to chop it fine, then run it through with an electric hand mixer, and finish it off with a food processor. Gary