[yodapete]

I saved some seeds from number one grandsons Halloween pumpkin last year.  Planted them this year and had great success, first time I’ve ever grown pumpkins.
With the weather turning cold and a threat of frost, yesterday I lifted all pumpkins and squash from the plot.  My question is this:- do pumpkins run true when grown from seed.  From the ones I grew I have about eight football sized “ normal” orange pumpkins,  six large green oval beasties that show no signs of changing colour and about eight round yellow ones, from grapefruit size up to small football size, that were this colour from the time that the fruit set.  All these from seeds from one pumpkin.  Can pumpkins cross pollinate to produce variants and will all my “mutants" be OK to eat?  I grew courgettes, pumpkins, squash and cucumber all in the same area.
Cheers

[DD.]

Can pumpkins cross pollinate

Oh Yes - apologies to our regular readers for the repeat. This is what happened having grown pumpkins with marrows.........

will all my “mutants" be OK to eat?  I grew courgettes, pumpkins, squash and cucumber all in the same area.
Cheers

Don't see why not, all the potential "parents" are edible.

[woodburner]

Just have to be careful if anyone has been growing gourds in the area.

[jennyb]

what were those like on the insde DD?  squash or courgette? or did the inside match the out side - half and half?

[DD.]

Don't know Jenny, I grew the plants & gave them to a neighbour. They were saved out of a trailing marrow. The ones I kept came out normal!

I keep forgetting to ask him. I'll tie a knot in something to remind me.

[jennyb]

could be an interesting version of a bedfordshire clanger...

turn the squash end into something sweet and use the courgette for savoury!!

[Salmo]

They should be edible but this family of plants is notoriously promiscuous.
Marrows, courgettes, sqashes, pumpkins, gourds all cross pollinate easily.

If you want to save your own seed you must put a rubber band on the female flowers to keep them closed and then take a male flower and pollinate by hand. The female flower must then be sealed up again to keep bees out. (see details on www.realseeds.co.uk )