Butternut Cross Pollination?

I mentioned a post ago that the butternuts had only produced female flowers. Since then some males have opened and i've hand pollinated some of the females. The wierd thing is a few of the fruit that I expected to drop off are still there and growing nicely. I've done a bit of research and it seems that butternuts, zucchini's and Goldn Nuggets are part of the same species of curcurbits and will cross pollinate. As usual there's a bit contradictory info on the web but most seem to agree that this can happen. Apparently the fruit wont be affected in the first year but will probably produce mutants from any seed saved.

The two together shown below are about 100mm long and the bigger single is about 150mm long. They would have dropped off by now if they hadn't been pollinated by something. Unless I missed a male flower, but I don't think so, pumpkin flowers are pretty hard to miss.



Special Guest

Last Sunday Helena from The Colour H came around for beer o'clock and took a few pics of the garden. Here's a quick sample.



Pumpkin Fruit

The Golden Nugget bush pumpkins have set fruit with some help from hand pollination by me. They may have been pollinated anyway but those bees just can't be trusted.

Meanhwile the Butternuts are climbing nicely. Only female flowers at the moment so I'm feeling a bit impatient as usual.



Zucchini Rush

After starting with just a few female flowers showing the zucchinis are now fruiting. I've been going out in the mornings and hand pollinating with a small paint brush just to help the bees along. The fruit grow so quickly that I've started giving them away already.



First Fruit

I'm starting to eat the fruits of my labours witht the first of the tomatoes being picked. It's just a few here and there at the monemt but there's plenty of fruit on the vines.  My Roma's below, in front of the taller Mortgage Lifters are so dense that it's hard to see the fruit. I'll plant them further apart next year.

The Sweet Bite are also starting to ripen too. Only a handful so far but plenty to come.