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I planted butternut squash and this is what has been growing.

They are between 12 and 13 inches long and 12 to 14 inches around at the largest point. They have not turned tan at all. Please let me know what these are so I know how to harvest and process them. Thanks for any help you can give me.

squash plant leaf

Brian Surowiec
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Kay
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4 Answers4

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Well it looks like a marrow, which are a type of squash, particularly if the fruits resembled courgettes (or zucchini, depending where you live) when they were small. On the other hand, there are green varieties of butternut type squash, such as Barbara and Zucca di Milano, but Barbara usually has yellowish stripes or mottles. If you planted a bit later than you should, they may still be butternut squash which just haven't changed colour yet, hard to say.

Not sure what you mean by 'how to process them...' do you mean how to prepare and cook them? If you do, some ideas in the link below

http://www.thekitchn.com/12-ways-to-make-the-most-out-of-zucchini-and-summer-squash-recipes-from-the-kitchn-205318

UPDATED ANSWER

Ah, well, there's your answer then - your saved seed was a result of cross pollination of your plants last year, and that means you've got squash this year, but who knows quite what type of squash, they don't come true from seed. Bear in mind that a squash is a squash - whether its a pumpkin or butternut or marrow, the only query with yours is, are they ripe...and what will they taste like...

Bamboo
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  • I planted seeds I saved from a butternut squash . I appreciate all your help to figure it out. I know how to process squash if I know what kind it is. – Kay Sep 22 '15 at 21:58
  • See updated answer – Bamboo Sep 23 '15 at 10:51
  • Looking at it, I'm guessing a cross between a butternut and a zucchini. There's a problem with saving seed from Butternut Squash. They're a cultivar of *Cucurbita moschata*, which can successfully hybridize with every other member of the Cucurbita genus. If you want to try saving seeds of a true butternut squash next year you'll need to hand pollinate the blossoms *and* exclude any bees. – GardenerJ Sep 24 '15 at 12:16
  • Can a cross bred pumpkin still be tasty? – Neil Meyer Dec 22 '16 at 14:11
  • Yes, its entirely possible - but its entirely possible it won't be, its a guessing game.That's assuming you find any squash tasty in the first place, which I personally do not, probably my least favourite edible! – Bamboo Dec 22 '16 at 16:14
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I don't know if there is a name for it, but I also grew something like that a few years back. I had planted some pumpkins and against most of the advice online which says don't harvest and use them for seeds, I did anyway. The next season one of the plants grew something that looked like that. Did you get seeds from the store or did you harvest last year's seeds?

I believe it may be a hybrid of a pumpkin and a zucchini or something else from the Cucurbita family. These types of plants have the ability to cross pollinate fairly easily.

I gave them away to friends and family. One person kept it in the kitchen for a few months and told me it turned orange, so at some level it was still "pumpkin like". Others make lasagna out of it when it looked like the picture.

Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
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Peter
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I believe the squash is Australian Green Summer squash, by the looks of it. As for the ripeness , the hardness of a cucumber is what you want firm with a little give.

Debra Brooks
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It’s a type of spaghetti squash you have to have a smart phone, iPad or computer just look up types of spaghetti squash and you will find your answer

Squash man
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  • Hi Squash man, It does not answer the question to suggest to the user that they look it up themselves. Can you provide more details? – kevinskio Oct 21 '19 at 15:25