CUCURBITA PEPO SUBSP OZARKANA

[canadamike]

From what I could decifer, these are growing wild in the south. I got one accession from Mississipi in my Grin-USA order.

Can anybody give me usable info on these wild pepos please?

I will try one hill this year, I might have to coverit but... I am looking for pepos producing lots ofsmall squashes, as I planto sell them fora replacement to scallop squash.

I have noticed they are crunchier and more flavorful than zucchinis, more colored meat too ( faint yellow), and googling it, found a site where they did recommend them as a more flavorful option than zuccs.

It is also true in my mind of c. maxima and c. moschata babies.

[flowerpower]

www.unl.edu/dpilson/GOURDS.html

Mike, Either Johno or Moonliliyhead will know if this is what they call "Egg Gourd" in their area. It looks like it in the pic of the dried gourd. I see that it is called a "melon" on other sites. From the pics I would never guess its a melon.

You want to replace the scallop as a summer squash, right? I know that Sandhill sells a vining zucchini. More fruit on a vine than regular zucc plant.

[johno]

The photo of the striped gourd is unfamiliar to me, but the egg gourds grow wild here. In fact they are invasive.

I found them growing along the creek and thought they were cute, so I planted one in my yard. They're small enough to disappear under tree leaves on the ground in autumn. The next year I tried burning them with oak leaves in the fall, in an effort to destroy them. Soon there was a long-lasting series of explosions that sent gourd seeds flying all over the place. Since then they have become a permanent fixture.

I was under the impression that they were the same as Japanese egg gourds, and surmised that they were planted by settlers and became wild. But it makes more sense that they are simply a native species. I sent some to Bluelaceredhead last year - don't know how that turned out?

I don't know of any wild edible squash around here. Maybe they are from further south?

[canadamike]

Are we talking about cucurbita pepo here? Iknow they produce gourds too, but your exploding ones are scaring me

It might make for some crossing material though.... where can I see pictures of them... how many fruits per plant?

[flowerpower]

John, I got seeds from both you and MLH. I have no idea if I am getting any of the white egg gourd though. I just put a mix of gourd seeds in the garden.

Mike, Here is a link for Goblin's Egg Gourd. In the pic, there are a few solid orange and orange/green bicolor. Those I have seed for. In fact, I had a solid orange last yr that must have crossed with a pumpkin. They ended up looking like tall Howdens.

gurneys.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_67921

[winter unfazed]

They are not really wild; they are feral, having been introduced during the Civil War era. They are like nest egg gourds.

[Alan]

Exploding gourds ehh, that's a nifty survival and dispertion method definetly. Hmmmm, exploding, self seeding, summer squash! Imagine that conversation with Kim:

Kim: what are you doing?

Alan: planting summer squash

Kim: why is there a giganting clusterfuck of a bomb fire in our yard.

Alan: I told you once woman, I'm planting summer squash. (throws them in fire, explosions)

Kim: what the hell was that?

Alan: Me planting summer squash.

[winter unfazed]

I don't know of any C. pepo that would do that. You might be thinking of the Exploding Cucumber (also known by other names), native to Africa and the Middle East, and introduced in Southeast Asia. There are a few other wild cucurbits that ex[plode too.

[flowerpower]

Jul 5, 2008 11:40:18 GMT -5 winter unfazed said:

They are not really wild; they are feral, having been introduced during the Civil War era. They are like nest egg gourds.

OK so it is an egg gourd. That's what I thought. Growing all sorts of ornamental gourds is one of my favorite things to do. And I let them cross to see what kind of weird fruits develop. If I leave them to rot in the garden, the shells do get hard. Here is a link to pics of my '07 gourds. I will have a ton of seed in the winter. I still have seed from the ones in the album

home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/560818585pMywxO?vhost=home-and-garden

[flowerpower]

I do see an egg gourd in one of my pics.

[johno]

Which pic? I didn't see any in the 9 photos on that link that look like the egg gourds here. The closest are the ones in the center of the pear 01 pic, but they aren't the same. Great gourds, by the way! [I'm growing dozens of F4's of those bicolor (orange/black) gourds from lavandula girl, hoping to find some like the F1's she saved seeds from. If your interested in adding them to your mix, we'll see what comes of them this year.]

These egg gourds have a hard shell when dry, and I seriously doubt one could eat them fresh (they are very hard and extremely bitter.) From the shell, I'd guess they were lagenarias (remnants last for years outdoors,) but I think I remember them having small yellow flowers. So maybe a pepo? I'm sure I'll have loads of them in a couple of months, if anyone wants me to save seeds...

Alan, if you want, I'll send you some whole for your bonfire!

[flowerpower]

See I thought that white one might be an egg. Those larger bicolor are called Goblins Eggs. They were in a pack of mixed I got about 5 yrs ago. They must have crossed with either a howden or a connecticut field. Last yr, some were much larger and solid orange. Looked like small pumpkins. I did cut a few open thinking maybe it would be sweet enough for the pigs to eat. As John said - very bitter. Even Pig isn't eating that. Maybe LG can dig out the pic for me when she gets settled.

[winter unfazed]

John, do you have any seed available? I'd like to make a cross between Japanese nest egg gourds and our native ozarkana gourds.

[johno]

Missed that last post - I can send you some for SASE this fall.