Hi, I'll trade you some Early Jersey Wakefield for some Roman Candle tomato seeds. Thanks

I had the same thing happen from a Burpee Heirloom pack, and someone who grew fields of Delicata told me that there are always a few plants that put out these round ones. Because of the overall similarity to Delicata in these cases (size, color, stripes) I would not be surprised if there is something other than hybrid seed going on... possibly a gene (fruit elongation) that gets turned off easily. But if the size, color, and stripes genes are dominant and the elongate shape is recessive my hypothesis could very well be wrong. My oddball was different in some other ways too. It was disease resistant and HUGE.

My neighbor just gave me a delicata she'd picked up at the Farmers Market and since I didn't know what to do with it, googled recipes. This is the first one that came up and I liked it a lot, halved the recipe for just the one squash (being more of a savory than sweet person :)) Baked Delicata Squash with Lime Butter 2 (3/4 pound each) delicata squash 3 tablespoons butter, softened 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 teaspoon chili powder Salt and coarsely ground pepper to taste Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove fibers and seeds. Place cut-side down in a glass baking dish and add water to the dish to a depth of 1/4 inch. Bake 30 minutes or until squash is soft but not mushy. Remove from oven. In a small bowl, combine butter, lime juice, and chili powder; stir until well blended. Season with salt and pepper. spoon the butter mixture into baked squash cavities and serve hot. Makes 4 Servings.

Linda, I try to save as many seeds as I can from my garden vegetables, but with so many hybrids, it's not possible. According to Cornell University, Delicata is not a hybrid, it's open pollinated, so you very well may be successful at growing your own Delicata from those seeds. I buy any of the rest of my seeds from my local feed mill, they have big glass jars and sell by "the scoop". Most seeds are about 40 cents a scoop, but sweet corn is sold by the half pound, as are beans. Between the feed mill and my own seeds, I mostly avoid any of the commercial seed selling companies so I can't offer any suggestions there. I also like to start my own plants when I can, nursery plants for things like tomatoes are outrageously expensive and here in Michigan, there's no growing tomatoes, peppers, etc., from seed without starting them inside. Since Delicata is a 100 day squash, you might want to start some inside there in Minnesota, although if you plant early enough there shouldn't be a problem with bringing them to maturity. Annie