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The previously discussed mystery plant that popped up from our brand new mulch is still growing, now about forty feet long, still getting blooms and new fruit. I'm about ready to cut the ends off this thing before it eats my house.
Post #20, page 2, on this thread The monster mystery plant has fruit on it! shows what the fruit look like. ALL of them are roughly the same pear shape, green striped like a watermelon, slightly warty. The leaves and stems are getting prickly as they age.
This beast has at least 15 fruit things with more to come, but the fruit things seem to have stopped growing in size. They have a hollow sound when I knock on them, and are fairly heavy. The skin is hard.
What are these things? When are they fully grown and 'ready to harvest'? Then, what the heck do I do with them?
EVERYONE in my neighborhood is fascinated and awaits your help!
LOL, haven't you been tempted to pick one of them and cut them in half to see what's inside? I would not be able to resist. Squash or watermelon? You could start asking neighbors to place bets
LOL, haven't you been tempted to pick one of them and cut them in half to see what's inside? I would not be able to resist. Squash or watermelon? You could start asking neighbors to place bets
Good idea. Frankly, I HADN'T thought of that! I'm not a gardener of any sort!
It clearly looks like some type of squash. Squash will cross-pollinate easily, so you could have some type of a hybrid...or it could be some type of unique variety. I've had different types of squash cross--pollinate and it makes for some interesting squash the next year!
It clearly looks like some type of squash. Squash will cross-pollinate easily, so you could have some type of a hybrid...or it could be some type of unique variety. I've had different types of squash cross--pollinate and it makes for some interesting squash the next year!
I have had hybrids from what I think was a zuchinni and pumpkin that looked like the op's squash. They were pear shaped, striped, warty and about a foot long on average and heavy with orangish flesh that tasted like an odd cantelope. I fed them to the turkeys and chickens and they loved them. I baked one and the odd taste did not go away. I had a Hubbard squash come up from seed in the compost and it produced about half a dozen fruit, the largest was about a foot long and 6 inches across, none of them had a core with seeds, the flesh was solid, orange and had a good taste, but no seeds to collect. I have noticed that with a lot of vegetables from store bought produce, the projeny do not come out like the parents.
I have had hybrids from what I think was a zuchinni and pumpkin that looked like the op's squash. They were pear shaped, striped, warty and about a foot long on average and heavy with orangish flesh that tasted like an odd cantelope. I fed them turkeys and chickens and they loved them.
When I quickly read Dragonslayer's reply, I left out two little words which made the reply much more interesting. I chuckled when I read it, and laughed again when I noticed my mistake.
Here's photos of one of the younger ones cut open, including a photo of the flesh after we 'forked it around a little'. I cannot detect any odor in the flesh.
PS - I haven't any turkeys or chickens, except maybe my husband on a bad day.
Last edited by Jkgourmet; 07-04-2013 at 09:30 AM..
When I quickly read Dragonslayer's reply, I left out two little words which made the reply much more interesting. I chuckled when I read it, and laughed again when I noticed my mistake.
Interestingly, I had 17 turkey and 37 chickens at the time besides 12 rabbits and most of my compost that I used came from the turkey and chickens, so in a sense the squash and all my vegetables were fed from the turkeys and chickens and in return, any excess got fed right back to the animals. I lived on 26 acres with 2 of it in cultivation and the rest used for firewood and hay. I cut down my hay with a scythe, put it in windrows, then hay stacks for silage and cut my firewood with a bowsaw and dragged it out of the woods with a rope, I grew most of my vegetables and cannned the harvest. I had more than enough meat to eat and sold the turkey and rabbits and the eggs from the chickens. The hottest compost and richest was from the turkeys, a winters accumulation of straw and turkey droppings in their stall came to about 3 cubic yards.
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I'm not a gardener of any sort!
