Mystery Pumpkins.

So I just thought I'd share these pumpkins. They grew out of a cow patty, so I think I'll call them cow patty Pumpkins. I don't know for sure where they came from but I think they came from some organic butternut squash that I ordered through a food delivery. I know that the squash came from Florida, so they could be Seminole Pumpkins. Im just guessing that is the source, because we eat vegetarian I gave all the kitchen scraps to the cow over the winter. These things took over the entire pen. They grew out of the pen and over it and sprawled 50 - 75 feet in all directions. I got about 100 out of one plant. Not a squash bug or blight touched them. They even stayed alive after several frosts, and all my heirloom butternuts had died in the garden. They are by far sweeter than a butternut. They also made excellent summer squash when young and green. The hat is for perspective.

wow that is quite a pumpkin / squash! how is it tasting as a winter squash? Is it dark orange or light yellow inside?

Wow is right!  I hope you saved the seeds.  I dream of this sort of yield from my Cinderella squash seeds that I saved this year.

It's very yellow and sweet, much better than a butternut, very small seed cavity, lots of flesh. I am saving lots of seeds. This one is a happy accident that has to be spread around. A little gift from the creator. I'll get pictures of the inside next time I cut one open. That bigger one on the left weighed 26 lbs when I picked it.

Looks great!  No doubt being planted with some fertilizer got things off to a strong start.

It will be interesting to see if the next generation comes true to type, or if you see a grab-bag of diversity because the original seed was a bee hybrid between two distinct varieties.  Squash and pumpkins have separate male and female flowers, so out-crossing is quite likely (depending on the size and diversity of the original planting).  Either way, you seem to have the genes in there for great yield, good taste and disease resistance, so it will be interesting to see where things go from here!

That looks and sounds amazing, Dan. Sweeter-than-butternuts the size of giant pumpkins. I wonder how they'll store?

I am not surprised they did as well as they have. They were born in fertiliser, and curcurbits looooooove rich soil. My much-better-half's employers had just two plants volunteer for them, and while their yield wasn't as spectacular as yours, they still managed a total of 61 butternut squash the size of my forearm.

How much variation was there from fruit to fruit? Where do you think the hybridisation happened? The way I read your first post, the scraps you fed your cow came from food you bought off-site. Is that inaccurate?

I would guess that, if there isn't much variation, that the source of all those squash was the seed from a single fruit fed with the scooped guts to the cow over winter. Does that sound plausible?

Looks like a keeper to me. One seven-quart stock pot of squash soup per squash, I'd guess. If they keep anywhere near as long as a butternut, that could be very useful.

Thanks for sharing, Dan.

-CK

The plant looks like the Seminole pumpkins I grow but the pumpkin itself does not. Mine are rounder but have the same color & general appearance as the pix. Maybe it's a butternut pumpkin. It looks tasty & obviously wants to grow there. Seems like a keeper.

Phil Gardener wrote:Looks great!  No doubt being planted with some fertilizer got things off to a strong start.

It will be interesting to see if the next generation comes true to type, or if you see a grab-bag of diversity because the original seed was a bee hybrid between two distinct varieties.  Squash and pumpkins have separate male and female flowers, so out-crossing is quite likely (depending on the size and diversity of the original planting).  Either way, you seem to have the genes in there for great yield, good taste and disease resistance, so it will be interesting to see where things go from here!

Yes it will be very interesting to see how the seeds grow out.

Chris Kott wrote:That looks and sounds amazing, Dan. Sweeter-than-butternuts the size of giant pumpkins. I wonder how they'll store?

I am not surprised they did as well as they have. They were born in fertiliser, and curcurbits looooooove rich soil. My much-better-half's employers had just two plants volunteer for them, and while their yield wasn't as spectacular as yours, they still managed a total of 61 butternut squash the size of my forearm.

How much variation was there from fruit to fruit? Where do you think the hybridisation happened? The way I read your first post, the scraps you fed your cow came from food you bought off-site. Is that inaccurate?

I would guess that, if there isn't much variation, that the source of all those squash was the seed from a single fruit fed with the scooped guts to the cow over winter. Does that sound plausible?

Looks like a keeper to me. One seven-quart stock pot of squash soup per squash, I'd guess. If they keep anywhere near as long as a butternut, that could be very useful.

Thanks for sharing, Dan.

-CK

Yes that is my assumption as well.