I was away at a friends cabin for a few days and Michael was busy with work so the garden was neglected for a few days. We were quite shocked to see how fast and large two of our zucchinis had grown. Our food scale only goes up to 5 lbs so we aren't sure the exact weight on these babies.
We planted heirloom zucchini this year. One of the great things about heirloom plants is the ability to collect the seeds to plant the next year. To harvest the seeds you want to let the vegetable mature and get larger than you normally would, I think these qualify the criteria.
~marisa
I recall that my heirloom seed packets said that for collection purposes, have the plants a large distance (like a 1/4 mile) from other varieties or plants in the same family to insure against cross-pollination. Pfft. As if the regular home gardener can do this. (Is this a seed-selling gimmick?!) Do you worry about that? Have you planted seeds you've collected, and if so, were they true to the parent?
ReplyDeleteOOOOOHHHHH MMMYYYYYYYY GOOOOODNESSSSS! Those are seriously impressive!
ReplyDeleteCross pollination is an actual issue with the cucurbit family. If you have zucchini close to yellow squash or pumpkins, for example, the seeds from either of those plants will result in future plants that are a cross between the two. Squash will cross with other squash, cucumbers will cross with other cucumbers, and melons cross with other melons, but those three don't cross boundaries with each other.
ReplyDeleteEver see those really funny looking gourds that are all bumpy and half yellow, half green, and many different shapes? Those come from interesting cross-pollination combinations.
THOSE ZUKES ARE MIGHTY! they definitely shame the one undersized specimen I coaxed off my mildew-zuke plant this year. :(
ReplyDeleteJennifer, the only seeds we have collected and replanted so far are yellow crook-neck squash, tomatoes, and melons. All are true to their parents. Next year we will be planting our pea and zucchini seeds as well.
ReplyDelete