zuchumber????

Hello A while bgack some one wondered if they should seperate their zuchini and cucumbers and some one replied that there was no effect of growing the two together such as a crross polination that would change the flavor of the fruit -vegi so when I planted them I did not worry about the proximity to each other I had an extra xuck and I planted it next to my cucumber vines today I went to make some spagetti sauce and I cut some xuchinni and they are that because I picked it fresh off the plant and I put it in my sauce it had the texture and shape of a zuck but the seed shape and flavor of a cucumber with no bitterness at all a soft skin and a yummy taste but not the texture on the inside like a zuck has this happened to any one else? I know it sounds weird but it is a very weird thing I thought cross polination only affected seeds. I'm confused Michelle

Zucchinis are related to pumpkins & squashes & can cross with them. Cucumbers are related to watermelons & muskmelons.

Even if it were possible for fabulous hybridizations to occur unexpectedly (such as between gords & squashes, or between zucchinis & pumpkins, which are possible), it does not effect the flavor of the first generation, the flavor being determined by material genes for the second generation (if I'm remembering rightly). If seed from the suspected hybrid were gathered & grown, that second generation would reveal the effects. But the parent would produce fruits as dictated by the seed it grew from, not from its pollinator.

Zucchinis change their interior texture & flavor a great deal as they ripen then age, from when they are small & soft to when they reach their ideal half-foot development to when they are enormous & beginning to get woody inside. I think you just experienced a "phase" in your zooks' daily-changing development.

-paghat the ratgirl