The Squash-kin: A Semi-Conclusion To An Unkown (To Me) Plant Species That Survived

                      

The month of October is coming close to the end. 3 months ago, I shared a story about a plant that had successfully seeded itself in an open compostor that @knarly327 built from re-claimed palettes. 

He had picked these palettes up at a local company in our area. This company gives their palettes away for free, just so they don't have to pay to recycle them.

They never have trouble re-homing their shipping palettes especially since there was some huge forest fires in Canada and heavy storm damage across the USA, this summer.

These two "acts of nature" have resulted in a 40% rise in the cost of finished lumber

At any rate, an" unknown to me" plant manged to seed itself in this new compostor and between the two of us, (@knarly327 and I) we unanimously decided to let it grow, just to see what it was and what it would produce.

Here is the progression:

 

The leaf structure was large and had a beautiful shape.

                      

The flowers were big and yellow and the plant had loads of tendrils that wanted to and did wrap around anything in their pathways. Ultimately tendrils search for anything that they can use to help support the weight of the mother plant.

We Still Couldn't Tell What it Was So We Continued To Let it Grow

Grow it did. Every day this unknown plant just kept getting bigger and bigger. It made tending to the grass around it, next to impossible and took this pallet compostor right out of commission for the summer .

                       

It began to produce fruit of some description. The outer shell was dark green with ribs and mottling similar to what a zucchini looks like. The issue was that it wasn't oblong in its shape. Its shape didn't resemble what a zucchini should look like. (The photo below, is what a garden-grown zucchini looks like.)

                    

This is what "the fruit" looked like, that our "unknown plant" was busy producing.

                      

It seemed more round and more pumpkin-like.

We Let The Plant Continue To Grow

                      

Near the end of the plant's life-cycle, it became afflicted by white mildew. I didn't treat this condition. I just let it be.

 

You'll notice that I have placed some small wooden boards under the fruit because this area of our property holds water really well. I used the boards to keep the fruit from sitting directly on the ground and rotting as they tried to grow.

In The Meantime, A Butternut Squash Grew The Same Way (By Chance, Seeding itself)

                      

In May, I had topped up my garden barrel with compost right from my  well aged black plastic compostor. This soil still contained a viable butternut squash seed and when this plant presented itself, I let it grow too.

Harvesting was fun. It Was Like Searching For Hidden Treasure Under Each Leaf

                      

The yield was 7 "unknown squash" and 1 Butternut squash. I have stored these in my cold room but I am still unsure what the group of 7, actually are. A cross pollination between a squash and a pumpkin perhaps?

                     

I cut one of the "group of 7" open so that I could show you what the inside looks like. It's flesh has a decidedly yellow colour and the seeds are large. 

It smells like pumpkin, has big seeds like a pumpkin but has the outer appearance that is closer to a zucchini.

What do you think?

I welcome your comments and I invite you to follow me on my journey...there will always be an experiment or two. Who am I kidding? My life is one big experiment. LOL! Join me if you dare.

~ Rebecca Ryan