But what I assumed was a zucchini plant is actually not a zucchini at all. The plant was a volunteer from my compost and to me it looked like a zucchini especially since the flowers were yellow. I had never grown a zucchini, but we receive tons of them from our CSA and all of the vegetable scraps get composted.
This past weekend, I had to cut back some of the plant. It had grown to at least 8 feet in circumference and I couldn't get to the compost bin. It was blocking the way. That is when I noticed these guys.
And I haven't a clue what they are. Pumpkins? Watermelon? Fall squash?
So, I am calling all of the experts. So many of my readers are so knowledgeable about gardening and I'm hoping somebody can tell me what this is.
Have you ever gotten a surprise in your garden? Volunteers are fun, but it would be nice to know what this is.
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This post is linked to:
- Tuesday's Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage
AAAHHHH!!! Congratulations!! You are growing beautiful PUMPKINS!!! I grew them last year with great success, but this year they were doomed from the first by the bugs of death that seem to have taken over my garden. :-( Anyway, they are pumpkins and by the look of them, they should start turning orange in a couple of weeks. Once they are orange, cut the stem and wash them in bleach so they will last (if you want to use them to decorate for fall - that's what I did last year). Mine lasted from July (I planted early) to the end of November when friend picked them up to chop, cook, and can! They looked super cute out on my front porch steps and lasted without rotting (thanks to the bleach). Enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree, it looks alot like the pumpkin we had last year - I had to look carefully at the bottom of the one fruit. This year my one pumpkin plant froze - lousy freak weather.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what it is, but it's cute! :)
ReplyDeleteI thought pumpkins too. We didn't grow any this year (and I am regretting it now...). You will have to post pictures of the mature fruit!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you have pumpkins growing. As fall comes on they will turn orange..dont worry about picking till plant dies back.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it sure looks like a pumpkin! What a fun surprise! I planted several hills - but not one came up.
ReplyDeleteThose are pumpkins for sure. How great! I just did a post two days ago on my garden volunteer this year - an enormous sunflower. Garden surprises are so much fun.
ReplyDeleteIsn't this Garden Party great? We can get all our questions answered...well, most anyway. ;-) My volunteer squash are white ones shaped like butternut. The only squash I grow is zucchini and pumpkins, so I've never had anything like this. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this at the TGP!
I suspected it was a pumpkin, but I was not sure as I have never grown one before. My kids will be excited, but now I wonder if it is the kind that is decorative or edible. I had both last year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments.
What a nice little volunteer. I love garden surprises (well, only if they're good ones!). Enjoy the pumpkins!
ReplyDeleteHow fun! I hadn't a clue what that was - I was guessing some sort of squash. Can't wait to see it in October!
ReplyDeleteThe pumpkins I grew last year were not, what I thought to be, edible pumpkins (they were started with a seed from an old jack-o-lantern we saved from the year before). However, my friend who picked them up at the end of fall said that it really didn't matter. She used any kind to cook up and can and it all tasted good once you added some spices. I can't say for sure because I didn't try any, but she's been doing it for years, so I guess she knows what she's talking about better than I do!
ReplyDeleteWe had the same thing happen! Congrats on your "new babies"!
ReplyDeleteEvery year I grow pumpkins in the yard for the kids' Halloween (much better than paying $1/lb at the g-store or pumpkin patch). So if you still want to grow them next year, just put the pumpkins in the spot you want them in and let them rot into the ground and in the spring, mix the dirt in so the seeds get under dirt and you will have pumpkins every year! I have been doing that for five years counting and we always get pumpkins.
ReplyDeleteMy volunteers this year are a cucumber plant (have no idea where that came from) and several tomato plants (need to remember not to put used tomato plants and fruits in my compost pile).
Good job!!
I was just blog hopping around and came across a women who had picked up veggies from the CSA. She showed a "globe zucchini" which I had never even heard of before. Guess what? It looks like a pumpkin! So you either have pumpkins (my original thought) or you could have "globe zucchini". Guess we'll see if they turn orange! :-)
ReplyDeleteDepends how big it is -- it could be an eightball squash too. They're round and about the size of a softball. And yummy! It's a kind of zucchini.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like our Ronde de Nice, a variety of zucchini.
ReplyDelete