Carol, I do think it's just an anomaly..just as conjoined twins are.. Here is my weird flower..but the color was great! And I just noticed for the first time..the stigma has two lobes just like yours..! Donna Strawberry Blend..

While it depends on variety, two you listed are vining. Never tried trellishing winter squash, so someone else will have address that.

Yes it makes good bread! I just used up the last frozen squash from last year to make ready for this year's squash. Once baked the bread also freezes well... which can be warmed slice by frozen slice in the microwave for a quick breakfast/snack/gift. I've been playing with a recipe for a year... nothing special (okay people rave about it) Squash bread my style... 2 loaf batch 3 cups flour 2 cups sugar Teaspoon Baking Soda 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder 3 Tablespoons of Cinnamon 1/2 Teaspoon of Cardamon 1/4 Teaspoon of Salt That is the dry stuffs... put it all in a big mixing bowl and stir it up dry to mix it up good... stir until the cinnamon is well distributed (dark so you can see it good) Then we move on to the wet stuff: Add 3 eggs 1/2 cup canola oil 1/2 cup water 2-3 cups of grated or pulped squash 1-3 teaspoons of vanilla big pinch of dried cranberries big pinch slivered almonds squirt of honey Stir it all in until the yolks pop and you have a wet batter. Divide it into two loaf pans. Bake in greased loaf pans at 350 for 50-60 minutes.... depends on the batter temp (cold eggs and cold squash increase baking time) Vanilla, honey, almonds, cranberries, and cardamon are all optional as I either forgot add or ran out each at one time or another... still makes good bread. Around here cardamon is a secret weapon... nobody knows what is in the bread until tell. Ground cardamon is fairly expensive $10/bottle but it holds flavor well and lasts longer then other spices.... just a pinch in things so per use price is low. For gift loaves I carefully sprinkle sliced almonds on top before baking. Careful with the cranberries... I like just a couple per slice... other dried fruit probably works. Don't have squash?... canned pumpkin works very well with this recipe. Pumpkin works so well I planted eating pumpkins in the garden this year. Very ripe (black) bannanas work in place of / or in addition to the squash... no sense letting they go to waste if you are making bread. Mash that bannana good or you get gooey bits of baked bannana (texture thingy). I usually make a couple batches with extra loaves going in the freezer (wrapped in wax paper then 2 loaves to a gallon ziplock baggie) I'm thinking of trying grated carrot... I have those in the garden. Last year I had 50lbs yellow squash from one vine! Oh get the smaller ones before the seeds get real big. They can be peeled or grated whole... I like the yellow bits of fiber/flavor. Sliced almonds help "hide" the seeds if the squash has seeded out... people just think they are all almonds. Really just a generic zuc bread recipe that I've tweaked and played with. When squash is fresh I like to nuke it warm and eat with salt and pepper. Ditto what people said about spagetti and chili. I freeze squash as a pulp for winter use. : ) lyra

My best bet for growing is using containers where I can place them in optimal sun. I bought peppers, zucchini, squash and eggplant and would love to get them going in containers vs. trying my luck planting them in the ground. Any thoughts??