Uchiki Kuri - Saving Seed

[mcdood]

Has anyone grown Uchiki Kuri from saved seed. I can't find anywhere to say mine are F1. From what I've read they're a different squash strain to my butternut squash so I'm hoping unlikely to cross. I've saved some anyway, just wondered if anyone has any experience or views?

[Small pumpkin]

I’ve grown them. Not for seed saving. They will cross with you butternut if you haven’t isolated them.
Don’t believe they’re f1.

[ameno]

They're not F1, but squash cross very easily. Unless you are growing them isolated from any other squash or pumpkin variety, it's best not to grow saved seed, as they are likely to end up a hybrid variety, usually not as good as the parents.

[mcdood]

Ok thanks for the feedback. I'll just grow a couple of these next year then and see what I end up with.

[Scarlet]

I honestly wouldn't waste the space...crossed seed can produce really horrible tasting fruit, masses of foliage with no fruit...it can be a real disappointment. Many previous threads on this - and not many happy outcomes.

[SarrissUK]

I saved quite a lot of tromboncino seeds last year and they didn't work out great this year. They weren't very strong plants, if they germinated at all. I've binned them, and will only buy them now. Lesson absolutely learnt

[mcdood]

Thanks for the further feedback, I'll move on to plan C - saved seeds in the bin

[MyWifesBrassicas]

I honestly wouldn't waste the space...crossed seed can produce really horrible tasting fruit, masses of foliage with no fruit...it can be a real disappointment. Many previous threads on this - and not many happy outcomes.

This is so true, but i just can't help myself and I repeat in year on year, sometimes it works though

[Trouvere]

The problem of course is that C. pepo includes pumpkin types, acorn squash, gem squash, Delicata types, and practically all the summer squash, zucchini and patty pans and so forth. So saving winter squash seed from a C. pepo is a fool's errand - there's a huge chance the pollen parent of the seeds you save from your pumpkin was a courgette and fruits of the offspring will be pathetic watery things that don't store. Likewise, I'd be worried about saving C. moschata seed if there were tromboncinos or aehobak (Korean courgette) around.

But I think I'd be a lot more adventurous when it comes to saving seed from C. maxima squash. Are there any that aren't true winter squash? I don't know of any. I figure if both parents are good eating, then there's enough of a chance that the offspring will be too. Besides, don't you want to see what sort of monstrosity you get if a Queensland Blue crosses with a Pink Banana?

There are interspecific crosses, but I think they are rare and require determined effort, and the ones I've heard of are C. maxima x C. moschata (Tetsukabuto, Honeynut). I don't think a C. pepo x C. maxima accident is very likely.

As an aside, I don't think the commercial suppliers do a bang-up job of maintaining pollen purity, at least with their C. pepo varieties. I've had a yellow pattypan that produced things like small orange pumpkins, and Delicatas that grew large green marrows that eventually went striped orange and others that were pretty much exactly like Sweet Dumpling.

[Scarlet]

This is so true, but i just can't help myself and I repeat in year on year, sometimes it works though

I didnt say I hadn't done it myself!
And I've also nurtured the couple that have popped up from the compost. None of them have ever been worth the effort, space or water they require. If I wanted to chance a cross these days I would choose something that takes a little less of those.

[Kirk]

To the OP I grew them a couple of years back, well one anyway.
Grew happily but produced just one fruit, the whole thing grew/climbed up 5 feet, then along about 6 feet, then found a bay tree to grow in and added about another 8 feet. It sort of made triffid size.

Bought mine from Moreveg that time and I think last year Wilkinsons sold them. Fair chance I have a couple in the envelope, if I knew where it was.

Find I get about half to germinate.