A Volunteer Squash

OK, one gold star to whoever can help me with this.
I have a volunteer winter squash that resembles a small pumpkin (roughly 5 inches in height and diameter) that's all white. Not a white white, but more the off-white of a mature patty pan squash. It has the vertical grooves typical of a pumpkin, but they are very shallow. The skin is, in fact, almost smooth and even.

I have no idea where the seed came from (possibly from an off-site addition to the compost pile?), but one plant (which divided into several runners) has produced 9 of these squash.

There has been no change in size or color for at least a month. The leaves have died back, but the vine stems are still green. The squash stems aren't corky yet, but the skins are hard enough that I can't pierce them with a thumbnail.

So, my questions are:

1. Anybody got a clue as to what this squash might be?

2. Should I harvest them now, or wait until the stems turn corky? We've had one very light frost, and they aren't predicting another one real soon.

brook sounds like it may be a type or a cross of a delicata type.Most I have grown are whiteish with stripes ranging from faint to bold with the odd one now and then being cream colored.

One thing is for sure once the vines start failing the squash won't grow much more so what you have is probably pretty mature,

Since you have nine why not send out a scout and cut one it will either eat or not be very good to your liking.Regards Ernie.

Brook where I live I have found once the vines start dieing the mold stars growing and getting into the stem causing the squash to not keep well so I am cutting them as we speak.

Took about a hundred to work to give away and came home with seven. Linda will take about fifty where she works today.

Grew Delicata, sweet dumpling, acorn, carnival, autum cup, ambercup, butternut, spegitti ok so I spelled it wrong
gotta go work and its fifty miles. Regards Ernie

I don't think it's a delicata, Ernie. Doesn't look anything like them, shapewise, and there are no stripes at all.

I've gotten two suggestions from other sources: Lumina and Casper. I don't know enough about either of them to even make a guess, but will do some research on them. And maybe other white pumpkins.

Thanks for your input.

BTW, doncha love those Sweet Dumplings! Too bad they don't keep as long as some others.

Brook I also thought of Lumina but the size is so different I think no. Lumina gets up to 20 pounds easy.

Maybe my assumption, since the vines are dieing you probably have a pretty mature plant is faulty.

Since the plant is a volunteer maybe it got a late start and the vines are dieing because they sense the day lenght growing shorter signaling seasons end.

Ernie

Ernie,

Are we talking about the same plant? I did a web search, and Lumina, according to the sites I looked at, grows to about 9 pounds.

Have you grown it? Did yours reach 20 pounds?

Brook No I have not grown this one yet. I have only seen it grown and while I also never weighed them they were pretty big.

I got the weight information from the 2003-04 HPS catalog where by coincedence I was browsing the tomato section and rembered seeing lumina on the way by.It reads 18 to 20 pounds.

I am sure what I saw was lumina. As I think about it at a store someplace I have seen white jacks that were smaller than what I saw on the vine.

Now I am going to buy HPS seed and grow them next year I almost did it this year.Lets hope HPS dosen't sell mare dust along with their seeds.Regards Ernie.

My mind must be melting, Ernie. HPS?

The sources I checked describe Lumina as being from 9 to 12 pounds, and 8-10 inches in diameter.

That sounds slightly larger than what I have growing (the nine I have measure 5-6 inches is all). But all the other white pumpkins I've found are even larger than the Lumina.

I haven't weight any of them yet, but doubt that they're more than 5-6 pounds.

The mystery just gets deeper and deeper.

This message was edited Oct 17, 2003 8:18 AM

Brook HPS a seed co I like, have grown many things of theirs over the last five years.

They also sell about 15 pages of supplies from their catalog as well.

I had a misfire last year with wave petunias and when I told them I only got 7 percent germination they replaced them within a week.

1 800 322 7288 or www.hpsseed.com

Maybe we need columbo on this case gotta go start the ugly drive to work rain wind to forty many idoits will bloom in next hour and tgif. Ernie

(Here's the link to Lumina) https://www.hpsseed.com/(0cvbo455jix4z455v3jhpx55)/hpssite/hpssiteviewproduct.aspx?ProductID=250


Brook, we planted pumpkins later than usual this yr and barely have any size on them. I attribute it to the cooler than normal temps we've had this yr. (Had many COOL nites even in August!) Maybe that is what has kept your pumpkin size restricted also (if that is what you have).

Wish I could think of some other cucurbit that was pale colored. Hmmm....

Curiouser and curiouser.

Of the several descriptions I've seen, that's the only one that lists Lumina as so heavy a squash.

One said 9 pounds. Several others (Territorial comes to mind) say 10-12. Most don't give statistics, but use words like "small," as compared to "medium" for Casper.

I'm wondering if anyone on the list actually has grown either of them, and can relate personal experience rather than catalog descriptions?

Brook did you check the PDB for Lumina? I did and terry grew it in 2003 and as of August it had grown to 12 inches around so far.

Maybe Terry can shed some light.His should be as big as they are going to get by now. Ernie

No, I hadn't checked the PDB.

Let's not confuse circumference with diameter, though. I picked one this morning, to see what was what. It's not nearly ripe, yet, based on the color---which is the same off-white as the skin.

This one measures 19 inches around. But the diameter is only about 5 1/2 inches. Weight is slightly more than 2 1/2 lbs.

Brook Im sorry I wrote around. I should have written high and since it is shown as round the diameter in August would have had to be 12 inches for a circumfrence of a bit over 36 inches and even bigger now.

Did you click on the picture that came up with the description?

I am going to the garden and see if their are any 12 dia punkins left and weigh it, if not I am going to the stores this afternoon with my tape measure and buy one. I realize their could be a different density between the types.

Maybe if I get lucky I can find Lumina at a market patch.
my guess is it takes about 12 diamemeter to make about 12 pounds. Each inch after will increase faster.

Terry where are you ha ha gottata go get my hair cut Regards Ernie

Brook 10.5 high x 12" dia x 36" cir is 15.2 lbs.

I know this isn't any help identifying your white punkin but it makes me pretty sure the guy that had the big luminas really did.

18 to 20 pounds would only have to be an inch taller and wider.

Is your growing season over? Regards Ernie.

Brook,There is also a White pumpkin variety named Casper, and one named Snowball. I haven't found a picture or seeds for the Snowball but they are out there somewhere.

Johnny's Select Seeds has one named Valenciano,their on-line catalog shows a picture of it. Then there are are the Baby Boo,but they are really small.

Thanks, Bitty.

Casper is, from what I can tell, a bit larger.
I haven't seen any references before to Snowball.

Trouble with a search is that most sites say "small" or "medium" but don't give specs. So it's hard to make comparisons.

It's also possible that the squash I have just never ripened. I opened one, and it was the same color as the skin. So maybe it's not even a white pumpkin after all.