What squash is this?

DorothyG 8/23/2018, 9:52 pm

They are from a volunteer vine that came up in one of the gardens this year. This is the first summer we've lived here and I have no idea what all was grown in that garden last year.

These squash are between 5" and 8" long.

bluelacedredhead 8/23/2018, 11:18 pm

Delicata!

DorothyG 8/23/2018, 11:35 pm

Thanks Blue. I looked it up and it does look right. Interesting. Will have to try out some of the recipes.

bluelacedredhead 8/24/2018, 7:33 am

You're Welcome.
Not one of my favourites but seems that lots of people do like them. I hope you do! You've got quite the number from a volunteer planting.

DorothyG 8/24/2018, 11:05 pm

Don't think they are Delicata. Thought I would cook a couple in a bit of butter to go with supper. That didn't happen.
Skin is not delicate. It would have been easier to put it in a vice and use a hacksaw. Finally go the dang thing open and touched my tongue to the inside. Bitter!! Nasty!!

Everything I found about Delicata said it has a delicate skin that can be eaten, a rich, creamy taste, and contains higher amounts of sugar than other squashes. Not this thing.
Any other guesses?

No_Such_Reality 8/24/2018, 11:24 pm

That's the problem with all the F1 hybrids and store bought food. None of it breeds true.

DorothyG 8/24/2018, 11:35 pm

NSR, do you think that is the issue? From the pics of delicata that I saw it looks to be a hotdog shaped squash. Mine actually have a small neck and larger on the tail end.

I can only go on what I was told when we came out a couple of times to look at this place before we bought it. The previous owner said she was trying to go all organic and only use open pollinated seeds/plants. But that is the same person that said she had a compost pile that turned out to be a clay pit with some greens thrown on top.

DorothyG 8/24/2018, 11:37 pm

bluelacedredhead wrote:You're Welcome.
Not one of my favourites but seems that lots of people do like them. I hope you do! You've got quite the number from a volunteer planting.

Blue, that is only the ones I could gather in my shirt tail while I picked Spookie Squash. There are at least that many left in the garden. Hubby spent more time in that end of the garden than I did and he reports that this unknown squash pretty well took over.

bluelacedredhead 8/25/2018, 9:52 am

Sorry to hear about your experience. I saw pics online that showed the very shape you speak of? Could be a cross. Whatever the case, don't grow them again!

I wonder if they are actually a gourd that closely resembles the delicata? That would explain the lack of sugar and the cardboard texture.

BeetlesPerSqFt 8/26/2018, 12:26 am

Delicata have crossed with gourds in the past, resulting in inedible squash. The right recombination of "gourd-contaminated" parent(s) -- or a new cross with gourds -- could have resulted in a Delicata-looking, but gourd-tasting squash.

Here is the story of the past gourd-contamination:
http://loghouseplants.com/plants/shop/squash-winter-zeppelin-delicata/

And here are some gourds with the shape similar to yours, and striping like a Delicata:
http://www.reimerseeds.com/small-warted-gourds.aspx

...Or maybe you grew fairy houses, and the fairies sprayed their houses with something bitter to deter human-pests from eating them...? Laughing

https://www.pinkcatshop.com/decor441-striped-gourd-fairy-home-fiddlehead-fairy-garden-collection.html

No_Such_Reality 8/26/2018, 12:29 pm

DorothyG wrote:NSR, do you think that is the issue? From the pics of delicata that I saw it looks to be a hotdog shaped squash. Mine actually have a small neck and larger on the tail end.

I can only go on what I was told when we came out a couple of times to look at this place before we bought it. The previous owner said she was trying to go all organic and only use open pollinated seeds/plants. But that is the same person that said she had a compost pile that turned out to be a clay pit with some greens thrown on top.

It could be that. It could be a cross as Beetles pointed out. Either way, your pictures aren't Delicatas to me. Delicatas are cylindrical

Clicking thru various gardening forums it seems quite common for people that saved their own seed to get all sorts of variations.

Since I don't see a ready source of F1 seeds for Delicata, I'd go with what Beetle said and suspect the prior owner had more than one variety planted and you're dealing with some sort of cross pollinated plant.

DorothyG 8/26/2018, 2:41 pm

I will be absolutely positive that every one of those nasty, bitter waste of space fruits are picked out of the garden so they won't go to seed. Gosh, it was worse than a green persimmon and I only touched my tongue to it.

Last year I know she had Waltham Butternut Squash planted in that garden as we harvested over 60 of them. Other than that the only things left there were what looked like sweet potato vines but didn't produce any tubers and tons of marigolds in about 5 varieties.

Beetles, I can attest for the description in your link to Log House Plants. It was a "throat clenching bitterness".
I like the fairy houses and they do resemble what I have.

**Scorpio Rising** 8/27/2018, 4:55 pm

Looks like a delicata cross to me; I grow delicata, and save my own seed successfully. They are cylindrical and striped, but are delish and tender skinned. Just made one last night in fact, along with an unknown summer squash from an anonymous donor at work!

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