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Vegetable Gardening

Spaghetti Squash... Or is it?

new_gardener_girl

16 years ago

I started several squash plants from seed this year. One BIG problem, only 1 or 2 of the plants I started from each variety turned out.. THEN each variety got mixed up and I wound up with all mystery squash plants. Needless to say, I planted them all and figured that I would find out what they were once they blossomed..

Well, guess what? I have several that are still a mystery, actually a good deal of them are still mysteries.

BUT then....

One in particular, I thought was spaghetti squash. It was a nice yellow color, and growing very nicely on the vine, it was about 14" around, then all of a sudden, it began to turn white and within a day or so, fell off the vine.

So, now I am perplexed on if it was a spaghetti squash to begin with (I have not cut it open yet) and if so what made it stop growing, turn white and fall of the vine.

If it wasn't a spaghetti squash to begin with, what possibly could it be?

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Comments (3)

Violet_Z6
16 years ago
Some Spaghetti Squash can appear on the white side. Why not cut it open and then you'll know?

Do you not have a master list of the original varieties you planted from seed or the seed packets so you'll know what the multiple choice selections are?
new_gardener_girl
Original Author
16 years ago
I didn't know if it needed to ripen more, so I didn't want to ruin the vegetable by cutting it open before I knew what it was..

No master list. The plan was to keep them segregated, but that ended up not happening, so everything got mixed up. I will have a much better plan next year.

This is my first year with a what I consider a big garden 40 x 40. In previous years, I had just planted a few items, so it was a no brainier on what I had growing. This is also the first year that I grew everything from seed. Previous years I have purchased everything already started.
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Violet_Z6
16 years ago
Well, now you know the results of not knowing.... I'm sure you won't do it next year. Most people will save the seed packets or keep some other record, written or stored on their computer of everything they planted. This way you know what the results "won't" be. You know it will be something on the list unless the seeds were packed improperly at the distributor.

Melons in general do not continue to ripen once they are detached from the vine. When winter squash is harvested at the proper time before frost, it is possible to cure them properly and store them at the correct temperature and humidity. This means that winter squash will last through the holiday season well into winter.

I suggest you go ahead and cut it open, then you'll know what a possibly unripe winter squash is like.

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