(notice the followup header to r.g.e.)

How mature does a squash need to be for you to sucessfully save the
seeds? I let a volunteer squash vine grow in my garden this year
(actually I transplanted it from a path to a big bed where it could run)
and it turned out to be an odd variety that I've never grown before but
like very much. It's probably a cross between a Tatume that I grew a
few years ago and a yellow straightneck or crookneck. The vines run and
branch like a pumpkin vine (like the Tatume), but stay relatively short.

While I was out of town for 3 weeks, it set its first few fruits, and I
picked the big hard-shelled squash when I got back. The seeds are
full-sized, but the shell of the squash was still soft enough I could
scratch it with my thumbnail, barely. The plant has started bearing
good again, and I don't really want to let another fruit mature on the
vine and have the plant shut down again.

I still have one of those 4 big fruits that I haven't cut yet if the
seeds will continue to ripen off the vine fruit. It has been sitting on
the kitchen counter for 2 weeks and shows no signs of rotting, if that's
any indication how mature it is.

I suppose I could test the germination of the seeds that I saved, but I
don't know if they need a few months dormancy before they will sprout.

Thanks, regards,
Bob

zxcvbob wrote:
(notice the followup header to r.g.e.)

How mature does a squash need to be for you to sucessfully save the
seeds? I let a volunteer squash vine grow in my garden this year
(actually I transplanted it from a path to a big bed where it could run)
and it turned out to be an odd variety that I've never grown before but
like very much. It's probably a cross between a Tatume that I grew a
few years ago and a yellow straightneck or crookneck. The vines run and
branch like a pumpkin vine (like the Tatume), but stay relatively short.

While I was out of town for 3 weeks, it set its first few fruits, and I
picked the big hard-shelled squash when I got back. The seeds are
full-sized, but the shell of the squash was still soft enough I could
scratch it with my thumbnail, barely. The plant has started bearing
good again, and I don't really want to let another fruit mature on the
vine and have the plant shut down again.

I still have one of those 4 big fruits that I haven't cut yet if the
seeds will continue to ripen off the vine fruit. It has been sitting on
the kitchen counter for 2 weeks and shows no signs of rotting, if that's
any indication how mature it is.

I suppose I could test the germination of the seeds that I saved, but I
don't know if they need a few months dormancy before they will sprout.

Thanks, regards,
Bob

Bob,
I would guess that the seeds are fine. If they look full size, are plump
and have a hard coat, they should grow.
I assume you realize that what you get, from those seeds, will not be
the same as what you are picking this year. Some may be similar, some
may resemble one parent, one may resemble the other parent. Some may be
short vined and some might be long. This is true even if the squash was
self pollinated this year. (You would have to grow out several seeds to
see the full range of possibilities.) If it got pollinated by yet
another squash or pumpkin, then just about anything is possible.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. It IS kind of fun.

Steve

Steve wrote:
zxcvbob wrote:

(notice the followup header to r.g.e.)

How mature does a squash need to be for you to sucessfully save the
seeds? I let a volunteer squash vine grow in my garden this year
(actually I transplanted it from a path to a big bed where it could
run) and it turned out to be an odd variety that I've never grown
before but like very much. It's probably a cross between a Tatume
that I grew a few years ago and a yellow straightneck or crookneck.
The vines run and branch like a pumpkin vine (like the Tatume), but
stay relatively short.

While I was out of town for 3 weeks, it set its first few fruits, and
I picked the big hard-shelled squash when I got back. The seeds are
full-sized, but the shell of the squash was still soft enough I could
scratch it with my thumbnail, barely. The plant has started bearing
good again, and I don't really want to let another fruit mature on the
vine and have the plant shut down again.

I still have one of those 4 big fruits that I haven't cut yet if the
seeds will continue to ripen off the vine fruit. It has been sitting
on the kitchen counter for 2 weeks and shows no signs of rotting, if
that's any indication how mature it is.

I suppose I could test the germination of the seeds that I saved, but
I don't know if they need a few months dormancy before they will sprout.

Thanks, regards,
Bob


Bob,
I would guess that the seeds are fine. If they look full size, are plump
and have a hard coat, they should grow.
I assume you realize that what you get, from those seeds, will not be
the same as what you are picking this year. Some may be similar, some
may resemble one parent, one may resemble the other parent. Some may be
short vined and some might be long. This is true even if the squash was
self pollinated this year. (You would have to grow out several seeds to
see the full range of possibilities.) If it got pollinated by yet
another squash or pumpkin, then just about anything is possible.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. It IS kind of fun.

Steve



I plan to sow a bunch of the seeds and select the ones that most
resemble the parent plant. After 3 or 4 generations I'm hoping to get a
reasonably pure strain.

Best regards,
Bob

zxcvbob wrote:

Steve wrote:

zxcvbob wrote:

(notice the followup header to r.g.e.)

How mature does a squash need to be for you to sucessfully save the
seeds? I let a volunteer squash vine grow in my garden this year
(actually I transplanted it from a path to a big bed where it could
run) and it turned out to be an odd variety that I've never grown
before but like very much. It's probably a cross between a Tatume
that I grew a few years ago and a yellow straightneck or crookneck.
The vines run and branch like a pumpkin vine (like the Tatume), but
stay relatively short.

While I was out of town for 3 weeks, it set its first few fruits, and
I picked the big hard-shelled squash when I got back. The seeds are
full-sized, but the shell of the squash was still soft enough I could
scratch it with my thumbnail, barely. The plant has started bearing
good again, and I don't really want to let another fruit mature on
the vine and have the plant shut down again.

I still have one of those 4 big fruits that I haven't cut yet if the
seeds will continue to ripen off the vine fruit. It has been sitting
on the kitchen counter for 2 weeks and shows no signs of rotting, if
that's any indication how mature it is.

I suppose I could test the germination of the seeds that I saved, but
I don't know if they need a few months dormancy before they will sprout.

Thanks, regards,
Bob



Bob,
I would guess that the seeds are fine. If they look full size, are
plump and have a hard coat, they should grow.
I assume you realize that what you get, from those seeds, will not be
the same as what you are picking this year. Some may be similar, some
may resemble one parent, one may resemble the other parent. Some may
be short vined and some might be long. This is true even if the squash
was self pollinated this year. (You would have to grow out several
seeds to see the full range of possibilities.) If it got pollinated by
yet another squash or pumpkin, then just about anything is possible.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. It IS kind of fun.

Steve




I plan to sow a bunch of the seeds and select the ones that most
resemble the parent plant. After 3 or 4 generations I'm hoping to get a
reasonably pure strain.

Best regards,
Bob

That should work just fine. You'll probably want to do a taste test of
the squash on each plant before you decide if it is worthy of seed
production for the next round. You will also want to use a twist tie or
something to keep the chosen flowers from opening and being pollinated
by who knows what. Pollinate the flower yourself and close it back up.
Mark the selected ones so you don't eat them!
The ones you have now, for seed, were open pollinated, I assume, from
your original post. Are there other squash near by? If so, you should
consider hand pollinating one before the season ends. It's going to take
much longer than 3 or 4 generations to stabilize things if your seed
has one parent of something completely different.

Steve

Steve wrote:
zxcvbob wrote:

Steve wrote:

zxcvbob wrote:

(notice the followup header to r.g.e.)

How mature does a squash need to be for you to sucessfully save the
seeds? I let a volunteer squash vine grow in my garden this year
(actually I transplanted it from a path to a big bed where it could
run) and it turned out to be an odd variety that I've never grown
before but like very much. It's probably a cross between a Tatume
that I grew a few years ago and a yellow straightneck or crookneck.
The vines run and branch like a pumpkin vine (like the Tatume), but
stay relatively short.

While I was out of town for 3 weeks, it set its first few fruits,
and I picked the big hard-shelled squash when I got back. The seeds
are full-sized, but the shell of the squash was still soft enough I
could scratch it with my thumbnail, barely. The plant has started
bearing good again, and I don't really want to let another fruit
mature on the vine and have the plant shut down again.

I still have one of those 4 big fruits that I haven't cut yet if the
seeds will continue to ripen off the vine fruit. It has been
sitting on the kitchen counter for 2 weeks and shows no signs of
rotting, if that's any indication how mature it is.

I suppose I could test the germination of the seeds that I saved,
but I don't know if they need a few months dormancy before they will
sprout.

Thanks, regards,
Bob




Bob,
I would guess that the seeds are fine. If they look full size, are
plump and have a hard coat, they should grow.
I assume you realize that what you get, from those seeds, will not be
the same as what you are picking this year. Some may be similar, some
may resemble one parent, one may resemble the other parent. Some may
be short vined and some might be long. This is true even if the
squash was self pollinated this year. (You would have to grow out
several seeds to see the full range of possibilities.) If it got
pollinated by yet another squash or pumpkin, then just about anything
is possible.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. It IS kind of fun.

Steve





I plan to sow a bunch of the seeds and select the ones that most
resemble the parent plant. After 3 or 4 generations I'm hoping to get
a reasonably pure strain.

Best regards,
Bob


That should work just fine. You'll probably want to do a taste test of
the squash on each plant before you decide if it is worthy of seed
production for the next round. You will also want to use a twist tie or
something to keep the chosen flowers from opening and being pollinated
by who knows what. Pollinate the flower yourself and close it back up.
Mark the selected ones so you don't eat them!
The ones you have now, for seed, were open pollinated, I assume, from
your original post. Are there other squash near by? If so, you should
consider hand pollinating one before the season ends. It's going to take
much longer than 3 or 4 generations to stabilize things if your seed
has one parent of something completely different.

Steve



There are othe squash (yellow crooknecks) nearby *now*, but not when
those first few fruit were set that I saved the seeds from. Also, the
yellow crooknecks are not producing hardly anything and this one *******
squash plant is producing more than we can eat -- so I may pull the
y.c's out to make room for some bok choy or english peas or something
else that can take a little cold.

Bob

zxcvbob said:

I suppose I could test the germination of the seeds that I saved, but I
don't know if they need a few months dormancy before they will sprout.

No need for dormancy. You can test them now if you like.

I wish you better luck than I had with my 'volunteer squash' experiment.
The first generation was wonderful, but none of the progeny were worth
the space (too bland and watery) and I lacked the patience (and room)
to really follow through.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

I don't know if I would tie blossoms shut. I read some where that when the
baby squash turn yellow and rot on the vine, it was caused when the blossom
was not visited by enough pollinators. Let us know how your "XYZ BOB"
summer or winter squash turns out.

Dwayne

"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...
(notice the followup header to r.g.e.)

How mature does a squash need to be for you to sucessfully save the seeds?
I let a volunteer squash vine grow in my garden this year (actually I
transplanted it from a path to a big bed where it could run) and it turned
out to be an odd variety that I've never grown before but like very much.
It's probably a cross between a Tatume that I grew a few years ago and a
yellow straightneck or crookneck. The vines run and branch like a pumpkin
vine (like the Tatume), but stay relatively short.

While I was out of town for 3 weeks, it set its first few fruits, and I
picked the big hard-shelled squash when I got back. The seeds are
full-sized, but the shell of the squash was still soft enough I could
scratch it with my thumbnail, barely. The plant has started bearing good
again, and I don't really want to let another fruit mature on the vine and
have the plant shut down again.

I still have one of those 4 big fruits that I haven't cut yet if the seeds
will continue to ripen off the vine fruit. It has been sitting on the
kitchen counter for 2 weeks and shows no signs of rotting, if that's any
indication how mature it is.

I suppose I could test the germination of the seeds that I saved, but I
don't know if they need a few months dormancy before they will sprout.

Thanks, regards,
Bob

Dwayne wrote:
I don't know if I would tie blossoms shut. I read some where that when the
baby squash turn yellow and rot on the vine, it was caused when the blossom
was not visited by enough pollinators. .......

No,no...when you tie the blossoms shut it is so you can go out later and
do the pollinating yourself. That way you know exactly which plant the
pollen came from. It's good to tie it back shut right after, so a bee
doesn't come and add pollen from somewhere else. Even if the pollen
carried by the bee only contributes to a few of the seeds, they just
might be the seeds you choose to plant next year.

Steve