What is this?

[birdlover2]

Like the poster above said it could be a cross, i'd open it out of curiosity. Are there more on the plant? if so I'd leave them until ripe. When the curly things on the stem have dried it's ripe.

It does have another fruit(?) or two and some more flowers as you can see in one of the pics

 

[birdlover2]

You can get both squash and gourds that are white. You can leave it on the plant a little longer so the shell matures and hardens. The only way to know which it is, is to take a tiny Nick out of one and touch it to your tongue. If it's a gourd, even the juice is so bitter you won't want to eat it. We used to raise several acres of gourds, pumpkins and squash

Thank you! We'll try that test if we decide to cut into it

 

[birdlover2]

It is definitely a gourd. Could be heirloom, depending on where the seeds came from. Edible, but also decorative if you have no interest in it.

Not bad for a random plant. That produced some great gourds for you!

What clues you in that it's a gourd? It certainly isn't bad It hadn't produced anything for a few years lol so it's exciting for it to produce anything!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

In the first pictures it looks like a pattypan squash. You pick them while they are small, about the size of your fist or a little bigger. They are a very good summer squash. Cut them up, don't peel them, boil them till tender, serve with butter, salt and pepper. Google to see what they should look like. They should be a very light pale green, almost white but with a greenish tinge. They look like little flying saucers with scallops around the edges. Very pretty and unusual.

 

[birdlover2]

In the first pictures it looks like a pattypan squash. You pick them while they are small, about the size of your fist or a little bigger. They are a very good summer squash. Cut them up, don't peel them, boil them till tender, serve with butter, salt and pepper. Google to see what they should look like. They should be a very light pale green, almost white but with a greenish tinge. They look like little flying saucers with scallops around the edges. Very pretty and unusual.

So if we take them off before they get big and white they'll be edible? Or are they not supposed to get that way? The big white vegetable came off of that plant, is that normal for pattypan squahes? My mother says the one that's growing looks like the pics of pattypan squashes I just showed her. She thinks maybe not all the produce will be the same thing from this plant...does that happen?

 

[lovesfarms]

So if we take them off before they get big and white they'll be edible? Or are they not supposed to get that way? The big white vegetable came off of that plant, is that normal for pattypan squahes?

If they are squash you can pick and eat them whenever you want to. If using as decoration they will last longer if left in the stalk to mature. Flowers are edible as well. Dip them in eggs and cracker crumbs and fry!

 

[birdlover2]

If they are squash you can pick and eat them whenever you want to. If using as decoration they will last longer if left in the stalk to mature. Flowers are edible as well. Dip them in eggs and cracker crumbs and fry!

That's so cool! Thanks for the advice and tips

 

[BigBlueHen53]

So if we take them off before they get big and white they'll be edible? Or are they not supposed to get that way? The big white vegetable came off of that plant, is that normal for pattypan squahes? My mother says the one that's growing looks like the pics of pattypan squashes I just showed her. She thinks maybe not all the produce will be the same thing from this plant...does that happen?

Well ... when I grow zucchini, I pick them pretty small, about 8 to 12 inches. At that point they're tender, succulent and flavorful. But if I leave them on the vine they get enormous, but to me at that point they're tough and bitter and aren't good eating. But they are full of good seed for next year. So that's probably also true for your pattypan squash. They're good to eat when young. But if you let the fruit get big and mature, you'll end up with an inedible fruit full of seed for next year. Make sense?

 

[birdlover2]

Well ... when I grow zucchini, I pick them pretty small, about 8 to 12 inches. At that point they're tender, succulent and flavorful. But if I leave them on the vine they get enormous, but to me at that point they're tough and bitter and aren't good eating. But they are full of good seed for next year. So that's probably also true for your pattypan squash. They're good to eat when young. But if you let the fruit get big and mature, you'll end up with an inedible fruit full of seed for next year. Make sense?

Yeah it does I'll pass this info on to my mother! Can you use them for decoration for a while until they start to rot and then take out the seeds, or do you have to get out the seeds while they're still fresh? Also, how do you store the seeds and when is the best time to plant them? (My mother probably knows this but she's not here rn and I'm curious lol) And btw, can you give squash to chickens? Can you give gourds to chickens? (In case it's actually a gourd plant or it produces squash and gourds lol cause that's plausible at this point)

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I can't answer most of your questions, but as far as I know a plant produces either edible squash or inedible gourds, not both. They're different animals, so to speak, apples and oranges. Or more like figs and thistles, the Bible would say. Google it though, I could be wrong. And let us know! I've been wrong before...