pumpkins

[KateM]

After failing dismally  to get our pumpkin seeds to grow, we were given some pumpkin seedlings by our neighbour, a man who's had an allotment for many many years.  They recently started to grow fruit, but they look rather more like marrows.  They are a definate marrow shape and are a dark green. 

We've been waiting for them to fatten out into pumpkins and become a little orangey, but so far neither of those events have occurred. 

I struggle to get photos onto the computer so I can't guarentee providing one though I will do my best.  I wondered if anyone else has had pumpkins that start off looking like marrows?  It's so important to my 3 year old, he's nurtured these plants and can't wait to take one into preschool at halloween! 

[KateM]

[Duke Ellington]

Maybe you have been given some squash plants. Some squashes look a bit like little marrows.  Its a little too early for pumpkins to colour up to orange especially if the fruits are still small.

Duke

[OllieC]

I can't see something the shape of a marrow ending up looking like a pumpkin... My bet is that you have marrows! Even the most experienced gardeners muddle up labels sometimes. You can still carve marrows though...

[Tulipa]

If they are marrows a fun thing for a little one to do is for you to carve their name in a marrow now and watch it grow, it might help soften the blow. ;)

And if you feed it well it could be a huge marrow which might be quite fun to take in to preschool too.

T.

[KateM]

Thankyou, I like the idea of carving his name into it, he would really enjoy that!  I think marrows taste nicer than pumpkins, so for me it's not too bad a result. 
Nice to know you think along the same line as us.  Guess we'd better start preparing Daniel for the no show on the pumpkin front, or is it definately too late to grow them now, even just to get a little one?

[Digeroo]

the no show on the pumpkin front

Suggest you nip round to supermarket and buy one.

[saddad]

Or trade with someone else on the lotties  :-\

[Pomona]

Or trade with someone else on the lotties  :-\

Pity you are not nearer- my pumpkins seem to be bent on world domination!

[THE MASTER]

do you have marrows near your pumkins . cross plolenation can happen .

[chriscross1966]

do you have marrows near your pumkins . cross plolenation can happen .

|Doesn't affect the fuit, the fruit is formed from soley the female parents structures, the seeds wouldn't come tru though. Just about any cucurbit will fertilise any other...

chrisc

[KateM]

Have spoken with the guy who gave us the seedlings.  He took them out of a pumpkin with his grandaughter and they'd looked after them until they came to us.  His batch are also doing the same as ours, so we are both now watching them to find out how they turn out.  Could be an interesting pumpkin/marrow cross pollination!

[amphibian]

Delicata and banana squash look like marrows when they are immature.

[KateM]

Have found out what they are.  They are marrows, a hybrid apparently as the seeds came from a pumpkin.  Have been advised not to eat them and have been given a pumpkin which we hid under the plant for the young one to find.  He found it this morning and is now on cloud 9!  We're also carving his name into one of the plants and going to carve another one up at halloween, so it's all good!
Hopefully we'll actually manage to grow pumpkins ourselves next year!
Thank you for all your suggestions.

[Unwashed]

I grew marrows and pumpkins one year and saved the marrow seed.  I didn't realize then how well they cross-polinate.  We called them mumpkins.  They were inedible.

[chriscross1966]

How do you think Marshalls discovered Squaskin? :D