Vegetables: Cross pollination among questions

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lookinforoz Chesapeake, VA June 6, 2007 02:15 PM	My father-in-law has said that zucchini and summer squash will cross polinate to create a combo veggie squashchini (well he didn't really call it that, but it sounds funny lol ). Anyhow, I am planting squash and zucchini as well as some iceboxwatermelons, smaller variety of melons (canteloupe and honeydew), 3 different varieties of pumpkins and 2 different cucumbers. Do I need to place the different varieties of each type in opposite areas of the garden? I had planned to have one section for watermelon and canteloupes, one section for cucs, and the pumpkins I am going to plant among my corn and other veggies for weed control since my space is limited and they grow like mad! Anyone have experience with this or have knowledge on how I should plant these fruits and veggies? Thanks so much in advance. I have to go out for a bit, but will check back later. :)
catmad Pelzer, SC (Zone 7b) June 6, 2007 02:22 PM	Unless you are saving seeds for next year, I don't think you need to worry. I've done some checking on this, and there are some good articles on the web. They seem to indicate that this years crop will be "normal" but next years might be bizarre. I'm guessing that the squashes would cross with the squashes, the watermelons with the other melons, and cukes with cukes. This is very simplistic, and I hope Farmerdill or someone else who has a clue will clarify this:) Margo
Farmerdill Augusta, GA (Zone 8a) June 6, 2007 04:02 PM	That is basicly it. No need to worry unless you are savings seeds. If you are saving seeds, most squash and pumpkins will cross with each other. Cantaloupe will cross with each other and Armenian cukes. Regular cukes only cross among themselves. Ditto with watermelons
catmad Pelzer, SC (Zone 7b) June 6, 2007 07:48 PM	Thanks Farmerdill :) hmmmm. Maybe I'll save some seeds. I spent quite a while today trying to figure out what vine was what. In one spot I have Sweet Dumpling, Butternut, and Spaghetti squashes all tangled up with a Connecticut Field Pumpkin. The Butternut and the Spaghetti look as if the are together on the same vine, and the Sweet Dumplings and the little pumpkins are within a foot. Might be fun to grow them out, could any crosses be harmful, or just atrocious tasting? Margo
Farmerdill Augusta, GA (Zone 8a) June 6, 2007 08:28 PM	Sweet Dumpling, Spaghetti, and Connecticut field pumpkins will cross, They will also cross with your summer squash ( like crooknecks, zucchini, and scallops. Butternuts are a different species. None of the crosses will be harmful, but may not be good eating, especially the winter squash-summer squash crosses.
lookinforoz Chesapeake, VA June 7, 2007 12:22 PM	Sorry I didn't make it back on yesterday. Thank you so much for your help. I didn't think it would be a problem b/c I have seen people with very small plots grow summer squash and zucchini in close proximity and they produced their normal fruit. My father-in-law is very helpful at times, but he is the most stubborn man when it comes to trying something new (Even if his way is not working). I guess I will be set in my ways too when I get old, but sometimes it frustrates me. Example: Every year at least half the tomatoes produced by his plants have blossom rot. I worked in the college library at the time as an intern and found an enormous amount of literature they were throwing out pertaining to tomatoes and other vegetables. One of the articles said to mulch the plants. I told him this and offered the literature to read. He didn't want to read it. He insisted that the plants would get diseases from the mulch. That was ten years ago. Every year he does the same thing he did the year before, and every year he and my mother-in-law complain about the blossom rot on their tomatoes. Their philosophy applies to any and everything including medical issues. Sorry I got way off on a tangent.(guess I needed to vent) BTW, they live next door/in front of us, so I deal with this sort of thing daily. I know they are going to die off when I begin mulching my garden in the next few days. :) Thank you again!! Now I guess I need to think about saving seed for next year, hmmm . . . . . . . . . . . . .
easter_lily Greentown, IN (Zone 5a) July 23, 2007 04:35 AM	Sorry if once again I'm heisting someone else's thread, but I DO have a question on this topic. Several days ago we noticed an odd shaped zucchini forming on our plant nearest the yellow crookneck squash plant in the garden. At the time I assumed it was just an oddity and thought no more about it. However, since then, I've begun to realize that it looks just like a green zucchini with the shape of a yellow crookneck squash! All the other zucchini have formed very straight except this one. I believe we may indeed have a "squashchini" on our hands!!! Is this possible for them to cross-pollinate, and if so, would this be a likely result? Thanks, everyone.
Farmerdill Augusta, GA (Zone 8a) July 23, 2007 11:38 AM	They do cross polinate, but it does not affect the first year crop. I f you save the seeds and plant, then you will have mixed squash. If you used fresh, pure seeds than your crooked zuchinni is just an abberation. They will sometimes grow misshapen for various reasons including incomplete pollination, physical damage, etc. I plant multiple zuchinni, crooknecks and scallops in the same patch with no problems.
easter_lily Greentown, IN (Zone 5a) July 23, 2007 01:21 PM	Thanks again, Farmerdill! This is the first year for the garden, and so we did use true zucchini seeds. I have to say I'm a little disappointed that it's not a "squashcini. I was looking forward to cutting it open and trying it! Oh well...I guess I'll just save some seeds if I want to turn out some unusual vegetables! Thanks and enjoy your summer harvest!
ZoneIII Warrenville, IL July 30, 2007 01:19 PM	I wonder if someone could clarify something for me: It has always been my understanding that cross-pollination between different species (as mentioned above in this thread) has no effect on the fruit but does affect the seed. That is confirmed in a couple responses above. However, the following quote from above throws me off a bit... "None of the crosses will be harmful, but may not be good eating, especially the winter squash-summer squash crosses." Farmerdill, are you saying that the fruit produced by the cross-pollination can affect the taste of the fruit that year or are you saying that it can affect the taste of fruit produced the next year if the seed produced from the cross-pollination is is planted the next year?
Farmerdill Augusta, GA (Zone 8a) July 30, 2007 02:17 PM	Next year. and cross pollination rarely occurs between species. Summer squash (zucchini, scallops, crooknecks , straight necks ) are all C. pepo as are many winter squash and pumpkins. The C. moschata group ( butternuts, some other winter squash and pumpkins) don't normally cross with C. pepo.
MANSKY00 Wayne, NJ July 14, 2009 03:09 PM	We actually manually pollinated a zucchini plant with pollen from a pumpkin plant by accident. We thought the zucchini plant was a pumpkin plant. We are getting 4 zucchini now but they are all yellow instead of green. So we indead have a zucchinikin. Any idea if that will be edible or if we should just use it a decoration? We will not be saving any seed from this plant.
Farmerdill Augusta, GA (Zone 8a) July 14, 2009 03:32 PM	You probably had a yellow zuke to start with. Many pumpkins will cross with zucchini and pumpkinis are common, but it only occurs in the second generation . There are dozens of cultivars of yellow zucchinis.
Jim41 Delhi, LA July 18, 2009 03:22 AM	Farmerdill a question for you, watermelon and cantalope cross? If not can a seed from an Ambrosia cantalope revert to what it was bred from? Got a volunteer in my compost pile that has huge cantalope looking melons. It could only have come from a rotten cantalope or two I threw on the pile last year. These jokers already measure 9 inchs in diameter and are still green and growing. That is much bigger than the original cantalopes were.
Farmerdill Augusta, GA (Zone 8a) July 18, 2009 11:47 AM	Ambrosia is a hybrid introduced by Burpee in 1975. I have no idea of its parentage, but second generation will throw some different melons. Cantaloupes and watermelons do not cross.
Jim41 Delhi, LA July 18, 2009 02:41 PM	Thanks Farmerdill, I was thinking that this thing had reverted back to something else because it was so much larger that the mother cantalope it had to have come from. I'm going to let them ripen and see what it tastes like. I suspect the taste is not going to be very good. We'll see.

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