Help ID this squash, please?

But anyway, back to genetics...

When I look at the pictures of the original 'Molly' squash from last year, there are actually three distinctive features:  the ridges and the long crookneck AND smooth skin (it's a plus being as it helps the ridges stand out more, I think) but I'm trying to keep a very complicated thing as simple as I can, so I'll leave skin texture out of it for now.  I'll call those desirable features R & LCN.  The "unwanted" features (no ridges & straightneck) I'll call NR & SN.  I'm going to ignore color right now also.  If anyone ends up with a totally green long-necked squash with ridges I don't think anyone will mind much.

So our tally so far is:

Molly's original seedstock:
(Stumpy)=R, SN
(Viney)= NR, LCN
(Prolific)=NR, SN

CC's original seedstock:
#1= ?
#2= ?

CC's 2nd Generation:
#1= NR, SN (& green   )
#2= ?
#3= ?
#4= ?

Donna's original seedstock:
#1 = NR, SN (I think; are the rest crooknecked or straightnecked?  The picture looks like it could go either way--and are you sure those aren't ribs?  The ones on "stumpy" aren't very pronounced either.)
#2 = ?

GWN's original seedstock:
#1 = ?

And I know that Camp has some that she's saving for next year, but I know I sent out more seeds--GG, didn't I send you seeds?  Were you able to get any planted?  Anyone else I might have missed?

Oh, and Mark, I know next to nothing about genetics. If you can post a link to that info on dominance that would be great. I'm trying to read up on what I can but it's all a bit mind-boggling right now.

Geez Molly...I've never seen anything that prolific as your 'Prolific Yellow Straightneck' that's doing what it's supposed to be doing!  That's incredible!

You know, now that I see your Stumpy, I'm wondering about my Gen2, #2 plant.   Are those ridges I see starting to form?
I'll check again tonite when I get home.

CC

OH!  Maybe, maybe, maybe...YES!!! 

AND it looks like it has a long neck, too!!!  I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!!!  You'll know soon enough, but none of my other proto-squash had ANY ridges to speak of so yours definitely shows promise!!!

I'm so excited!!!

   

As to my "mystery squash" we ate one last night.  I haven't had a potimarron squash yet to compare it to, but it tastes as I imagine they will from descriptions.  Mild pumpkin-like flavor, quite tasty.  I have half left to fix today - yesterday's we fixed with pumpkin spice, honey and butter, today's we will fix savory flavored.  

I'm keeping the seeds and we'll see what happens next year.  I'm not as sophisticated as you guys.  I'll stick the seeds in the ground and see what comes up, LOL!

Ribs!

However, they seem to form at the blossom end and fade away toward the stem end.  

They're yellow and appear to be SN.  Pictures to follow.  I'm going to let some babies grow to full (or nearly full) size, and see what happens.

Here it is-- I hope!

Yes, that looks like the squash on "stumpy", straightneck and ribbed!  That's an "original" seedstock plant, right?  It's all good info one way or another as it helps us get an idea of who/what might have been last year's parents, and the genes that might be dominant.  

If you want to try to save some seeds, it's important to cover up a girl flower and a boy flower from the same plant the day before it looks like they'll open and then pollinate the girl well in the early AM with the saved-up boy flower's pollen once she's opened and immediately cover her up again to prevent any cross-contamination.  

I don't know if you read the previous posts, but I didn't know to do that last year and it looks like some other pollen might have gotten into the scene because CC got a green squash from one of the generation 2 seeds I sent her.  

If CC's 2nd plant ends up having a crooknecked squash with ribs just on the blossom end, I don't think I'm going to try to save seeds from any of my original seedstock plants this year (except maybe the prolific straightnecked one), but if she or no-one else does, then it might be up to you & me, Donna.

Is your other plant showing any girl flowers yet?

2nd gen plants 2 & 3 are a bust.  They don't have ribs.  But they aren't big enuff yet for me to tell if they are Lebanese or not.

1 more 2nd gen and 2 controls to go...altho if this weather doesn't warm up they won't do ANYthing.

CC

OH! That's too bad, CC. Still, like I said to Donna, it's all good info one way or the other. Does that Gen2,#2 plant that we thought might be ribbed have a crookneck? What about plant Gen2, #3 that you said was also a bust?

I was wrong!  Got one!  Gen 2 plant #3 came thru for us!
I can't save seeds from it because it's right next to the Lebanese squash and I didn't cover it. Unless we want to try for a ribbed Lebanese?

CC

I'm tempted to try to cross a yellow crook-necked, a (ribbed) yellow straight-necked, and a Romanesco.  Will have to get up early tomorrow.

Meanwhile, a gal at the local supermarket wants to buy some of my squash....  What do you know?  (Not that I care about any regulations....)

CapeCoddess wrote:I was wrong!  Got one!  Gen 2 plant #3 came thru for us!
CC

  

YAY!!!  

If you can, wait until another girl flower is about to open and then cover her up (do the same for an unopened boy flower) and pollinate it with itself, so to speak, then cover up the girl flower again for a day or two to prevent cross-contamination.  If you're careful it shouldn't matter that it's neighbor is the Lebanese milkman's son.

Are there any other girl flowers to speak of?  All the squash from that plant should be ribbed, and your season is longer than mine, so you should still have time to grow out a squash from which to save seeds.  

YAY again!!!   

donnainzone10 wrote:I'm tempted to try to cross a yellow crook-necked, a (ribbed) yellow straight-necked, and a Romanesco.  Will have to get up early tomorrow.

Meanwhile, a gal at the local supermarket wants to buy some of my squash....  What do you know?  (Not that I care about any regulations....)

What regulations are you thinking about? Do you mean because she wants to re-sell it at the supermarket? Is that on you or on her? If someone wants to buy your squash, that's great!

As to the cross, I think that the boy pollen makes contact with a single female proto-seed and once fertilized, it's fertilized.  The problem is that the squashes have so many proto-seeds (is that even a word or did I make it up?) that you can imagine where I *thought* I'd fertilized the girl flower thoroughly but I must have missed at least one proto-seed that ended up as CC's green squash.  

Think of CC's generation 2 seeds as fraternal twins.  They may have ended up with different genetics because two different sperm fertilized two different eggs.

Following that reasoning, if you try to crosss a yellow crookneck with a straightneck and also a costata romanesca zuke at the same time, you'll end up with a bunch of seeds with different combinations of mom & dads, but not two dads at the same time with one mom.  I'm also not sure if the zuke will cross with a yellow squash.  Are they the same squash sub-family?

I guess you could just try it and see what happens, but I'd suggest crossing only two to start, and taking really detailed notes.  It makes things less complicated.  You'll have to wait until those seeds grow to bear fruit before you can then introduce the third genetic variance, I'm thinking.  

OH, and come to think of it, you're growing out the original seedstock, right? There's no telling what genetics are behind those ribs.  It may already have the crookneck gene if it's a sibling to the Molly squash (they share the rib gene at the least).  Or, its offspring might end up being green because of an unknown genetic heritage that may have nothing to do with the Lebanese squash I had growing last year.

Why not start with plants that you're reasonably sure are open-pollinated, stable varieties so that when you get a variation you can accurately attribute it to your cross and not to some unknown mystery variable?

Okay; I'll check to see whether my other squash are OP, or what.  

I think the gal at the market just wants some good-quality, organic squash at a reasonable price, for her own consumption.  She asked what else I might have available, which might be beans, within the next week or two.  My freezer is nearly full, as it is!

mollyhespra wrote:

...I don't know if you read the previous posts, but I didn't know to do that last year and it looks like some other pollen might have gotten into the scene because CC got a green squash from one of the generation 2 seeds I sent her... 

I may be cross pollination, or it may not. There is a virus of yellow squash that makes them turn green. Doesn't hurt them for eating, but it's a plague for market growers, as it makes the squash unsalable.

Pollinator wrote:

mollyhespra wrote:

...I don't know if you read the previous posts, but I didn't know to do that last year and it looks like some other pollen might have gotten into the scene because CC got a green squash from one of the generation 2 seeds I sent her... 

I may be cross pollination, or it may not. There is a virus of yellow squash that makes them turn green. Doesn't hurt them for eating, but it's a plague for market growers, as it makes the squash unsalable.

Really?!  Gruesome.  Can you give us a link so we can check out if that's what's going on here please?

CC

Just reporting in.
I did get the one from original stock to get growing, but thus far, it has only produced on squash and it for some reason is not growing, I am suspecting that it did not get pollinated, and is just going to die
SOOOOO  it is getting late to produce a plant that will produce squash that can be used for seed, but I am still hopeful
not sure if it is significant, but it did not appear to have spines on it.
LOVED your post mollyhepsra

  GWN! Thanks for checking in!

Can you try to isolate a girl & boy flower as mentioned previously and do some hand-pollinating? I agree, it's getting late in the season, but something is better than nothing. It would be nice to know for certain that your squash has no ribs. Could you tell if it was straight or crook-necked?

There are no flowers of either sex apparent right now, but if I see any I WILL for sure do that
The one that I had clearly was not pollinated, it fell off today, most likely too early to tell of it was crook necked, but no bend at all in it at this point

HI guys, Thought I would update my "data"   I did manage to grow two viable squash from the generation 1 seeds and have saved the seeds, turned out with some nice ones.
What is the original name, ...just yellow crookneck?   I thought if nothing else I have a great start for seeds for zucchini next year