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Ga.

I have ask several people about marrows....I had a marrow blooming when Baby G was set..It opened with out my knowledge,,,so now I wonder....I have found 2 different marrow seed,,,each is different,,,,.. One is a Cucurbita pepo,,,and the other is a Cucurbita maxima...If someone could set me straight,,I would appericiate it..Not that I dont trust the people who have said one way or the other...I need a solid yes,,or no....Can marrow cross with an AG????

7/8/2002 8:20:47 AM

Buffalo, NY

Any C. Maxima can cross with another C. Maxima. I don't know anything about marrows but as long as you are sure one's a maxima, then what out.

Mark

7/8/2002 12:28:14 PM

Ga.

I understand a maxima can cross,,but am not sure what genetics are on the type of marrow grown for weight purposes are.....

7/8/2002 1:37:30 PM

Utah

Jeff-

Since no one seems to know anything about marrows and
because it's a slow day at work - i thought i'd do quick internet search an ta da... here is your
answer- I still don't know !!!!

2 sites list Marrow is a C. Maxima
and 2 site lists it as a pepo

C. maxima types such as Hubbard, Marrow, Banana, Turban and Turks have a corky peduncle, fleshy round stem, and rounded, relatively non-lobed leaves.
Ref:
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/sustainable/peet/profiles/c16squas.html

C. maxima: Banana, Boston Marrow, But-tercup, Delicious (all types), Essex Hybrid, French Turban, Hubbard (all types), Mammoth, Mammoth Chili, Marblehead, and Olive.
Ref:
http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/L232.htm

Cucurbita pepo (i.e. crookneck squash, straightneck squash,
scallop squash, zucchini, vegetable marrow).
http://www.orst.edu/dept/NWREC/zuc.html

The pepo species is usually recognized as the true pumpkin. Varieties within this group have bright orange skin and hard, woody, distinctly furrowed stems. But the group also includes gourds, vegetable marrow, Pattypan summer squash, scallop summer squash, gray and black zucchini and summer crookneck squash.
Ref:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/vegetables/pumpkin.html


I searched for marrow squash and species on google.com

7/8/2002 5:36:17 PM

Utah

so is the "marrow" that you are growing more
like a yellow crooked neck squash - a pepo ?
or more like a hubbard or banna squash- C. Maxia ?
I think that is your answer.

7/8/2002 6:05:56 PM

Ga.

Think its a zucchini type....pepo??? Guess I will have to sprout a seed and see what I get...LOL...

7/8/2002 6:10:07 PM

Utah

i think you with the "stump the pannel"
prize for the year.

7/8/2002 6:57:24 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

Gordon where do you come up with all this stuff! Great work. Wait for the results jeff! Let us know.

7/8/2002 7:22:29 PM

Buffalo, NY

Your question was: Can marrow cross with an AG???? The simple answer is YES, a C. maxima marrow can cross with an AG. It sounds like you are sure one was blooming at the same time your AG got pollinated and therefore you are worried about saving seed from the AG? Is this the question to the answer? or do you want to know if the marrow that bloomed was a C. maxima? You can always try to reverse pollinate--pollinate a marrow with a male from an AG. If it was a controlled pollination (female covered, etc.) and it takes, then you got a C. Maxima marrow! Which means WORRY! If they have a high record of being easy to pollinate, and the marrow doesn't set fruit, then maybe it is a C. pepo. Or maybe it's a maxima & didn't take for numerous other reasons. Hope this helps. What was the question again?

Mark

7/8/2002 11:05:08 PM

Ga.

or do you want to know if the marrow that bloomed was a C. maxima? " yes"

7/9/2002 12:07:51 AM

Ga.

Oh yea,,,not tha easy,,no more marrow,,and no more baby pkins!!...

7/9/2002 12:08:25 AM

Buffalo, NY

My easy rule of thumb on cucurbits:
You can grow an AG, jack o lantern, melon, watermelon citron and cucumber all in the same yard/patch/field without worries, anything else in the cucurbit family, be sure it's not the same subspecies as one of the above. Especially be cautious of squashes (summer/winter/spaghetti) as some may also be C. Maxima. Most summer squash varieties are C. Pepo, same as many jack o lantern type pumpkins. Gordon did a great job, plus there's also some other members of the cucurbit family, C. Moschata (Butternut Squash, cheese pumpkin), C. Mixta (cushaws), C. Melo (melons, cantaloupes), C. sativa (cucumbers) etc.

I have an heirloom vegetable book that lists Boston Marrow as a C. Maxima.


Mark

7/9/2002 12:53:50 AM