Cmagnus's Mystery Squash
Cucurbita

We ate two of the unripe squash last night. They were definitely unripe. They were both picked when they had started but not finished turning colour; their stems might have had just the beginning hint of woodiness, but they were still almost entirely herbaceous.

The peanut-looking squash was almost squash-like. It’s seeds weren’t far enough along to be worth roasting (which is a shame, because the other peanut-looking squash had the most amazing seeds I’ve ever tasted). It was your classic squash-colour in the middle, but it had a thick layer of green just underneath the skin. It came out pretty close to winter-squash like, but I suspect it was less amazing than it might have been.

The spherical squash was more zuccinni like. The seeds weren’t worth scooping out. It tasted a lot like summer squash.

The verdict:
Squash is edible when harvested under-ripe. It is tasty, just less-tasty than it might have been. I’d do it again under threat of weather.

It got into the 20s last night. At least, it was supposed to. When I went out to check on the squash today, all it’s leaves were black from frost. So I harvested the pumpkin. That’s the last of the squash. We ripped up the vine and turned it into the compost pile.

My partner thought I should put a quarter in the photo for scale. It’s a pretty big pumpkin; it’s a shame it couldn’t ripen. I think I’m going to try carving it for Halloween. It will make a ghoulish jack-o-lantern. Worst case, it’s skin isn’t hard enough and we are forced to eat it. It might not taste as good as it would if it were fully ripe, but I’m sure it’s still edible.

The covered pumpkin survived the frost. It even put out a new male flower. The uncovered bits didn’t survive the frost. I pulled them up and dug them into the compost pile.

The pumpkin is getting big. It’s not as big as the hubbard, but it’s pretty close. If the hubbard was 20 lbs, I’d say the pumpkin is around 15. I’m not sure how I’ll tell if it’s ripe. For one thing, a week ago I thought it was starting to turn yellow. It’s since turned a deep green. Since my turbans ripened from yellow to green, I wonder if the pumpkin is, like everything else, a weird hybrid that turns out not to be anything like the fruit it came from. Maybe it won’t actually turn orange. I can have a crazy green zombie jack-o-lantern.

It’s supposed to get to 30 tonight. So, I harvested the turban-looking squash and the peanut-looking squash. Their peduncles were just starting to get woody, but they weren’t near as woody as I let the others get. I put them on the radiator in the kitchen, since the porch isn’t really warm enough for curing. I hope they’re ripe; if they aren’t, oops. At least this will give me some data regarding how long I actually have to leave them on the vine next year.

I left the pumpkin. It’s getting awfully big, and it’s turned a rather dark green colour. I read that you can put a tray with a thin layer of water under a row cover with a plant and if the frost is light, it will freeze the water instead of the plant. You know how evaporation cools you off? Freezing is the opposite; it warms things up. By freezing the water, I will warm the pumpkin. So, that is what I did. There’s an old 8×8 pan that I put half an inch of water in the bottom.

While I was out there, I turned most of the compost (except, obviously, for the bit with the pumpkin growing out of it).

One of the little turban-looking squash looks to be dead. So I chopped it off and tossed it in the compost. I hope the big squash will still make it.

The squash is now permanently under row covers. I’ve noticed it doesn’t get much sun, and I really want that pumpkin to ripen. I never thought I’d get a pumpkin, but now that one’s coming, I really want it to ripen.

On the vine, I have

• 1 pumpkin
• 1 spherical squash
• 1 peanut-looking squash
• 3 turban-looking squash

The pumpkin is starting to take on a yellowish tinge. The spherical squash is also starting to turn a rather yellow colour. The peanut-looking squash looks the same as it ever did. I’m not sure when to call it ripe; its colour is developing, albeit slowly, but it’s peduncle, which is much shorter than any of the others, shows no signs of woodiness. I think only one of the turban-looking squash is going to come to term. It’s a rather dark green, and the stem is just starting to get woody.

Last night we ate the peanut-looking squash. Its skin was cracked, so I don’t think it would’ve stored very well. Plus, we were out of food that wasn’t eggplant and longbeans (we also ate eggplant). The roasted seeds were amazing. I don’t know if home-grown squash seeds just taste better than store-bought squash seeds, or if this peculiar squash just has amazing seeds. The squash itself was sweet and towards the mealy end of the mealy-waxy scale. Not fluffy potato mealy, but mealier than your typical squash. It really tasted almost but not completely unlike butternut squash. It supports my weird crossbreed theory; I don’t think it’s a standard variety.