[jojoringo]

I was given 2 courgette plants from my allotment neighbour and after 1 green courgette the rest were yellow and round. Today I pulled one off and it had started turning orange and now I am confused as to whether these are now pumpkins and I should leaver alone rather than harvest...can anyone help???

[1st time veg grower]

Hello jojoringo and welcome to the forum! (That's the first time I've said that to anyone! )

The photo is a little small, so I can't tell for certain, but they look a little like the photo of Summer Ball 'pumpkin' seed I bought to try next year. These grow as courgettes or pumpkins so the packet says: "cut the young yellow fruits early as courgettes or leave them to mature into larger summer pumpkins". So it may be that you can use it as either!

See here:
http://www.suttons.co.uk/Shop/Vegetable+Seeds/Pumpkin+F1+Summer+Ball+Seeds+175676.htm?sku=175676

Hope that helps.

[arugula]

Looks like a pumpkin doesn't it, but I'm thinking, as you were told these were courgettes, it could be a pattypan type squash gone big? I'm sure someone more experienced at this type of crop will be along soon though...

[mumofstig]

I grew Golden Nugget this year, and it looks just like that

You can eat them like that, as a summer squash, or leave them on the plant to ripen like a pumpkin ..and they don't trail, they grow bushy like a courgette

[shokkyy]

I grew Summer Ball this year and it's hard to be sure from a picture but the colour doesn't look quite right. It looks kind of orangey and Summer Ball is very yellow. And I have let some of my SB fruit grow on for quite a while, but none of them have wanted to go as big as that one looks. It looks more of a true pumpkin sort of colour and size.

[1st time veg grower]

I grew Summer Ball this year and it's hard to be sure from a picture but the colour doesn't look quite right. It looks kind of orangey and Summer Ball is very yellow. And I have let some of my SB fruit grow on for quite a while, but none of them have wanted to go as big as that one looks. It looks more of a true pumpkin sort of colour and size.

Oh ok. Just on photo on the front of my seed packet (which is actually from unwins but I couldn't find them on their website for some reason) the fruit pictured are most definately orange so I went from that, having never seen one in the flesh yet. To me, against the oil bottle its next-door to in the photo, it doesn't look that big - not as big as my pumpkins anyway. (Why does that always sound wrong? )

So my guess is still on it being some sort of courgette that can be left to turn into a pumpkin - may be its the variety MOS grew instead.

[shokkyy]

Oh ok. Just on photo on the front of my seed packet (which is actually from unwins but I couldn't find them on their website for some reason) the fruit pictured are most definately orange so I went from that, having never seen one in the flesh yet. To me, against the oil bottle its next-door to in the photo, it doesn't look that big - not as big as my pumpkins anyway. (Why does that always sound wrong? )

If I could find my camera I'd take a piccie of one cos I've just been picking them, but it is very difficult to tell exact colour from a photo. Mine all came out very bright yellow. They are delicious though, nice raw, sauteed, steamed, baked, very prolific and still going strong. I'll be growing them again.

[mumofstig]

Has it got a button on it's bottom like this one

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/seeds1/product/458/1/

[Trillium]

They're all part of the squash family anyway, but the one in jojoringo's pic is classed as a pumpkin due to the downward dent of the top. There are a lot of small pumpkins available now, some that you can hold in the palm of your hand and are more for decoration than eating, so don't let size (or lack of) fool you. Once the outer skin is hard and orange, and the stem attachment browns, it's ready to pick, and eat if that's what you want.

[jojoringo]

Thank you all. I opened it up and it certainly looks like a pumpkin, the skin was hard and orange, the seeds big and pumpkin like and the soup tastes like pumpkin soup...the yellow fruits I had been picking earlier on in the summer were very courgette tasting so it is strange....I am saving the seed so who knows what I will end up with next year