Can anyone tell me what kind of squash this is please?
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We were given 2 plants which were supposed to be butternut squashes, but aren't showing any tendency to look like butternuts. They are however showing a tendency to attempt taking over the entire allotment.
I accidentally broke this one off the plant, so I cut it open so you can see the inside, although I'm assuming it's not fully finished yet. So if you know-- what is it? What's it good for? How will I know when they're ripe?
TIA
Steve
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OmManiPadmeOmelet
Hard to tell really, but my best guess would be maybe Hubbard???
Check google for that one and see what it says? :-)
Just found this site and it has a BUNCH of pics of different winter squashes:
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you want Butternut squash seeds, I've got a million of them. I save them when I purchase them from the store and they grow well for me! You might try that too... Cut a fresh, mature butternut sqaush in half and remove the seeds prior to cooking it. Rinse the seeds and dry on some papertowels, then store in a regular paper envelope with the variety and collection date written on it.
Cheers!
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OmManiPadmeOmelet
Kabocha. It says it's a "squash of the buttercup type" so someone might have easily made the mistake and called it butternut?
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Pat Kiewicz
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We were given 2 plants which were supposed to be butternut squashes, but
Ripe squash will have hard rinds (can't pierce them with a fingernail) and very hard stems. In some types of squash the stem will be as hard (or harder) than wood. Many show some type of color change. It can be dramatic and total, or it could be limited to a slight change in sheen over most of the squash (with a less noticeable change in color in the spot where it sat on the ground, from white to gold or orange).
A close look at the stem end might have helped to identify your squash.
If the stem has a very well defined angular shape, it will be one of several species of squash. A stem is quite rounded and a bit 'corky' looking would make it Cucurbita maxima (buttercup, Hubbard, Japanese kobocha).
It is *possible* that you have something in the butternut line. Along with the best known shape, the long-necked squash with the bulge at the blossom end, butternuts (C. moschata) come in a 'wheel of cheese' shape and a blocky 'pumpkin' shape like your squash. Butternuts will generally ripen to a tan color.
Or you could have some sort of pepper squash (C. pepo). It could be a jack o'lantern pumpkin or a spaghetti squash.
My butternuts (I have the neck type as well as cheese types) are still quite green. I expect it will be another month before they are all ripe.
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farmerdill
My best guess after looking at your picture would be some type of Kabocha (C. maxima). These cross readily so it could be a mixed breed. Definitely not a butternut (C. moschata). Buttercups are in the same group as the kabocha, but usually have a pronounced blossom scar.
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winter squash can be picked, when the skin becomes quite hard and the stem dry and woody, I prefer to leave them on the vine untile the plant begins to die back.
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shazzbat
Thanks everybody, I'm happy to call it a buttercup/Kabocha type. I still don't know where it came from, according to the seeds we had, it should have been either a butternut or a spaghetti squash Hasta la pasta. Clearly it isn't either. Ho Hum.
Steve
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OmManiPadmeOmelet
Does it matter? :-) You win anyway. I'm sure it'll still be delicious!
You can even make pie.......
Cheers!
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