A few of my kabocha squash this year look like pumpkins!

[Muse]

I've been growing kabochas ever since I had a volunteer around 12 years ago. I didn't know what it was at the time but I saw them at my local market and the produce guy said "kabocha!" I've been growing them ever since, saving seeds, and once in a while I'll buy a kabocha from that market to introduce some genetic variety.

This year there are 2 especially large fruit, they are humongous and they don't look like kabochas. One is squat like a kabocha but quite a bit bigger and it's a light orange at this point. What it will look like in October I don't know. Another is even bigger, it's definitely larger than a basketball and I'm thinking that it's probably the biggest ever grown in my yard. I'm thinking 15-20 lb! It's monstrous, and the shape is not really characteristic of what I'm used to ... it's virtually spherical. It's got the same yellow-orange color (as that other mongrel) at this point. I see yet another fruit, somewhat smaller than those I just described but has the same coloring. I believe that these 3 are all on separate plants.

I'm wondering what they will be like after fully ripening. Will they have yellow-red flesh like kabochas and be likewise sweet? Or will they be like pumpkins, which aren't particularly sweet?

I'm also wondering what's caused this. I presume they grew from seeds that I either planted myself (from my kabochas, I never buy pumpkins), or they grew from seeds in my compost pile, which also must have come from my kabochas (I throw what I scoop out of my kabochas into my compost). Or did the seeds get cross pollinated by bees that have visited pumpkins in neighboring yards? If that's it, I suppose when cooking time comes I'll find that these squash's flesh will be something like a cross between pumpkins and kabochas... not quite as reddish and not as sweet. If that's the case, and I don't want to see them next year I'll be careful not to let the seeds get into my compost.

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

I would guess they were cross pollinated from some other variety, probably a hybrid you bought from the market. I wouldn't keep the seeds if you don't like how they turned out this year. You will probably have to buy heirloom seeds from somewhere for next year.

 

[Muse]

A lot look Ok, there's just 3 that are goofy. I may go to all new seeds as you suggest. Might buy a few from the store and use those seeds or seek online or from local source. Of course, I'll make sure no seeds are planted next year from squash I don't care for. I've tried to do that in the past but gotta confess that I routinely just toss seeds into my compost regardless. Gonna stop doing that. The compost goes in at planting time, so I get a lot of volunteers for sure. I plant around 125 seeds in a 6x10 foot plot.

A site I was reading yesterday said that cross pollination won't show up in the current fruit but rather in the fruit from the seeds of that fruit. So, my habit of planting seeds from the previous year's crop is apt to be questionable. I think what I'm seeing here (if that site was right) is plants from seed from flowers that were pollinated by bee(s) that had gathered pollen from an orange pumpkin, likely a large orange pumpkin!