Pumpkins?

[Tashsteve]

We have  pumpkins growing from seeds from a pumpkin we grew last year. For some reason the pumpkins are not Growing round but longish? Why would this be?

[Tashsteve]

[GrannieAnnie]

It probably is a cross with some other squash that grew nearby.

[galina]

It probably is a cross with some other squash that grew nearby.

Pumpkins are often from F1 hybrid seeds in the first place, which don't breed true.  Additionally, as GrannieAnnie said, they can cross very easily with any squashes of the same family.  Their big yellow flowers attract all sorts of pollinating insects and they visit flowers far and wide. 

And that plant family is very large:  Anything from an orange halloween pumpkin, to a green or yellow courgette, an acorn squash or a flying saucer type pattypan squash are all in the same family (cucurbita pepo) and can cross.

Hope you will enjoy eating them all the same.  Unless you were very unfortunate and they were crossed with some bitter decorative squashes in the same family, your pumpkins should be fine to eat and not a write-off.

[Tashsteve]

Thanks for the reply.

Hopefully they will be edible will they still orange?

I will be so annoyed if they have cross pollinated with a non edible plant that would be annoying!

We done so well last year with pumpkins and we were looking forward to eating them again this year

[galina]

Here is a thread about squash, isolating and handpollinating for pure, true breeding seeds, especially the last few posts.

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,78164.msg792195.html#msg792195

You can do this and make your own seeds reliably, but you have to make sure the pumpkin seeds you started off with are not F1 hybrids.  If the packet says F1 hybrid, you have to buy new ones because they won't breed true, even if you isolate and handpollinate.  If you have harvested seeds from a halloween pumpkin from the shops, you could get anything because it is not known if it was hybrid (most commercial ones are) and it is not known what the pollinator variety was. 

A lot of pumpkins will eventually turn orange, but with an unknown like what you have growing, there is no guarantee of that either. 

[Tashsteve]

Here are the photos if it helps.

[sparrow]

Looks more like a pumgette or a marrokin ;)

[Spireite]

Maybe it will be marrow shaped with orange skin    It'll be interesting to see how it ripens.  Please post final pics.

[Robert_Brenchley]

That's probably a cross. F1 hybrids are no great problem, since both parents are still pumpkins; this looks like a cross with a non-pumpkin. With F1's, you just pick the best one and save seed from it. After a few generations, you have your own variety, which will be very similar to the original. Seed companies want you to think you 'can't' save the seed so they can sell you more next year.

[GrannieAnnie]

I used to grow some colorful ornamental gourds and huge bushel gourds in our yard but don't anymore because of fear they'll cross with our winter squash crop which I count on heavily for us and to give away.
Despite that, one plant has crossed with something resulting in huge and probably tasteless curved baseballbat-sized fruits, maybe 30-pound size. Think I'll drop one off at each neighbors' front door in the dead of night

[Tashsteve]

Well here are the results. Had to pick slightly early as someone has been stealing atuff at the allotment and didn't want to risk these. There are 4 normal pumpkins and 4 minutes of these cross types. Not a bad harvest off two plants!

[galina]

Well here are the results. Had to pick slightly early as someone has been stealing atuff at the allotment and didn't want to risk these. There are 4 normal pumpkins and 4 minutes of these cross types. Not a bad harvest off two plants!

And they are all nicely changing from green to orange.  Enjoy!

[GrannieAnnie]

Ah! Your wonderful haul looks like fall has arrived.