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tessa
head gardener
Australia
3682 Posts |
Posted - 25/01/2009 : 10:20:51
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here's a good comparison of the two seedlings now grown up. you can see that one of them has classic zucchini leaves...while the other has classic pumpkin leaves, which is really interesting to see...since both seeds came out of the same fruit:
i've had another female flower open today with no boys around still. so i've tried to pollinate it with a blossom from another pumpkin that is unintenionally crossed. from that pumpkin...i only know that one parent was a 'sweet dumpling' squash, and the other is unknown. so if this takes...it will be a zucchini/butternut/sweet dumpling/unknown cross.
i will name it: krissy-cross pumpkin.
LOL.
i will be very, very diligent about pollination when we get around to having a female and a male from the same vine looking to get ready at the same time. i will tape their blossoms closed until i perform the cross myself, and then will tape the blossoms closed again until the cross either takes or dies.
cranky people live longer. i'm going to live forever! perth, wa |
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medburygardens
gardener
New Zealand
639 Posts |
 Posted - 26/01/2009 : 02:50:34
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Its great fun this breeding and selecting isn`t it |
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Mary-Anne
garden sage
Australia
10809 Posts |
Posted - 26/01/2009 : 06:55:33
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I had to do a bit of that last week also and there are now a couple of Kent Pumpkins getting bigger where before they were going yellow and dropping of the vine..
There does not seem to be so many bees around this year..
Friends are the flowers in the garden of life
Love Your Enemies... It Will Drive Them Nuts |
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tessa
head gardener
Australia
3682 Posts |
Posted - 26/01/2009 : 08:15:13
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yeah...it's definitely fun.
i'm using this thread as a sort of diary so that i don't have to make notes elsewhere.
cranky people live longer. i'm going to live forever! perth, wa |
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tessa
head gardener
Australia
3682 Posts |
Posted - 26/01/2009 : 12:04:43
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inspecting the plant further today, i note that the first female blossom has now dropped off.
unsuccessful pollination.
the second one i still cannot tell.
this morning i've pollinated blossoms 3 and 4 with the pollen from a spaghetti squash.
time will tell.
cranky people live longer. i'm going to live forever! perth, wa |
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Di Taylor
assistant gardener
New Zealand
188 Posts |
Posted - 26/01/2009 : 17:21:10
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Maybe it is like breeding cats that have a mutant gene with each other... the offspring are always infertile (think Manx, scottish fold and Ragdoll cats)
A good year is when more things get harvested than die! |
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tessa
head gardener
Australia
3682 Posts |
Posted - 26/01/2009 : 18:12:09
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yes, this is a definite possibility, which was already apparant in that only 2 out of a huge bag of seeds from the initial cross germinated. but those two are the true mutants, right?
cranky people live longer. i'm going to live forever! perth, wa |
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Di Taylor
assistant gardener
New Zealand
188 Posts |
Posted - 27/01/2009 : 18:08:03
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He is a weird mutant story, we had a wee dog came in straining in labour for an emergency c-section, the pup we removed had died but was a tenth of her weight with a round head no snout and one eye like a cyclops, now I think he would have been infertile !
A good year is when more things get harvested than die! |
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tessa
head gardener
Australia
3682 Posts |
Posted - 27/01/2009 : 19:29:53
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*ew*
maybe he would have only been infertile because no dog in her right mind would have mated with him.
the first two hand pollinations did not take.
the second two appear to be going full steam ahead.
those were pollinated with a spaghetti squash.
i quite like the krissy-cross name...so i might call those that. at least i'll be confident of their parentage. they will be zucchini/butternut/spaghetti crosses.
cranky people live longer. i'm going to live forever! perth, wa |
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tessa
head gardener
Australia
3682 Posts |
Posted - 31/01/2009 : 09:34:22
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krissy-crosses are going nicely.
you can see from the picture that they look like a cross between yellow zuke and butternut. very interesting shape tho.
and just as an aside....check out the fun guys growing amongst the basil and cukes.
maybe i'm watering too much.
LOL.
cranky people live longer. i'm going to live forever! perth, wa |
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Mary-Anne
garden sage
Australia
10809 Posts |
Posted - 31/01/2009 : 09:44:06
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Maybe you are..
Friends are the flowers in the garden of life
Love Your Enemies... It Will Drive Them Nuts |
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The Estate
head gardener
Australia
3676 Posts |
Posted - 31/01/2009 : 09:44:15
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 lets hope we get t hear about the taste test Tessa
My basic weeding rule: if they grow in rows they're flowers;
if they don't they're weeds.
Melbourne |
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tessa
head gardener
Australia
3682 Posts |
Posted - 03/03/2009 : 19:07:32
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hey...i forgot to take a pic of how big the fruits are today. pretty nice size for container pumpkins.
in the meantime...another girlie has blossomed. my problem is that all the male flowers die without ever opening. the vine is sterile.
so this one i've cross pollinated with a spaghetti squash. my fave.
let's hope we get something special on vines that are not shooting blanks.
cranky people live longer. i'm going to live forever! perth, wa |
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The Estate
head gardener
Australia
3676 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2009 : 06:28:51
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 very clever Tessa
My basic weeding rule: if they grow in rows they're flowers;
if they don't they're weeds.
Melbourne |
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Mary-Anne
garden sage
Australia
10809 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2009 : 09:42:23
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That will be interesting.
Friends are the flowers in the garden of life
Love Your Enemies... It Will Drive Them Nuts |
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Topic |
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pumpkini? zucchernut? zumpkin?