Squash | What is this squash?

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What is this squash?

Squash Pennsylvania

We had some volunteers come up from our compost pile this spring. We moved them and now we have several 35 foot vines producing these squash.,,, funny thing is, we don't recognize these at all. Western Pennsylvania. Thanks everyone!

Light green with some thin striping

These leaves are 18" and more across.

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Posted by: HappyNomad (1 point)
Posted: August 5, 2014

0 Comments

Answers

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Hi HappyNomad,

You may have a new variety that is a mixture of two cultivars planted previously in the area. This has happened to me before with volunteer seeds in the community garden. The squash fruits from last year would contain seeds that are genetically a combination of the parent plant and whatever pollen it received. Since many squash are actually the same species, but different variations (cultivars), they can interbreed and produce second year hybrids that are a mix of the two parents. That is likely what is going on here. Good news is it is edible and may be very tasty because in Pennsylvania there are not any native wild squash that could contribute genetic material to make the fruits bitter, so go ahead and try it out in some recipes.

Posted by: Kerry Mauck (58 points)
Posted: August 5, 2014

2 Comments

Nicole Castle Brookus commented,
There are wild Cucurbita pepo and other species in PA. If crossed with a wild species they will still be perfectly safe to eat (though maybe not palatable). Otherwise, I agree, it's probably just a random cross. It does look like it has butternut in it's family tree
.
over 9 years ago.

Kerry Mauck commented,
Cool. I did not know we had any wild ones in PA besides the ones my colleagues plant at the PSU research farm. Do you know where there are populations of them? I thought that since Roundup came about most of the wild squash populations have been reduced or eliminated.
over 9 years ago.

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Oh cool! Thanks for the info Kerry! This is a reasonable explanation to me, because we have five varieties at this point, and only one of the squash is a recognizable variety that we know. Neat!

Posted by: HappyNomad (1 point)
Posted: August 5, 2014

0 Comments

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I think this is butternut squash that crossed with it self. It looks like it was picked too early.

Posted by: Fruitrunner (1 point)
Posted: August 7, 2014

0 Comments

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Looks like a Tahitian or Butternut. The Tahitian can get very large, up to 30 lbs. They are both winter squash and should remain in the garden until late fall.