Self-Saving Butternut Squash Seed?

[Helgalush]

IGNORE! I have now found the answer!!! Sorry!

******************



I'm sure this must have been asked many times before, so I apologise, but the settings on my new laptop dont seem to agree with the search engine at the moment.

So anyway just a quick question - is it ok to save the seeds from a butternut squash that came in my veg box? I have 6 seeds drying on some kitchen towel. Just wondered if there was any reason not to bother. I've never saved seeds myself before so am just experimenting.

Thank you.

[Two_Sheds]

Just in case anyone else is viewing this and wondering - no, your squash seeds most likely won't come true

If you're of a gambling nature, go ahead and sow them. If you want some BNS to actually eat, go and buy some seed

[Nik]

I did this last year and spent months tending plants, training them up some poles, watering and generally fretting about them and got nada. Don't bother, it's a big waste of time.

[VirginVegGrower]

So from where do the seeds come that we buy in packets - not from the squash plant?

[Nik]

Yes, but not ones that have had the chance to cross pollinate like wot those in your garden have.

[VirginVegGrower]

But the poster is asking about using seed from a bought squash vegetable, which is where I assume nurserymen/growers take their seed from.

[taff]

actually, the poster knows the answer, because she edited her post.

It's more likely that the squash you buy will come true than ones you self save seed from, I've done it myself with crown prince squash before I knew what happens with cross pollination, but you're guaranteed to get what you want from a bought seed packet.

[VirginVegGrower]

I can read that. Still can't see how saving your own seed and sowing it is any different than buying it. I do it every year with other stuff. Still germinates, grows and provides food for the table.

[dave_norm_smith]

Unlike other stuff, squash and pumpkins are 'tarts' and will pollinate with any tom, dick or harry. The stuff bought in packets is pollinated under controlled conditions and so breed true next time around. No one is saying don't, just don't if you don't wish to take the risk of a potential tastless mutant.

[Two_Sheds]

Still can't see how saving your own seed and sowing it is any different than buying it. I do it every year with other stuff. Still germinates, grows and provides food for the table.

You can save your own seed from open pollinated veg. You can't save seed from F1 varieties and expect to get "true" plants.

[chris]

This confuses me... Surely open pollinated plant seeds that are saved are not guaranteed to come true?

If I'm growing a hybrid squash, and a heirloom type in the same family then if a bee pops in one then the other, surely the heirlooms seeds will have been tarnished by the hybrids?

[Jelliebabe]

That right Chris - exactly what everyones saying - However - I grew a lovely Butternut squash (see my pics) from a seed I saved from a supermarket BNS. I think that if you save from your OWN squash they are more likely to have been polinated with any number of other squashes (due to no one growing too many plants of any variety at once!) but a butternut squash grower is unlikely to have anything different in the vicinity....

[bethduckie]

I think it's like this...

Mendelian inheritance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Scroll down to the cats, and you will see two cat-parents. Pretend that the cats are infact butternut squashes (yeah, I know!)

On the white- er- squash, you can see one parent has two S genes. This means (in my example) Super taste. The other parent has a different copy of these genes, s, which means not such a super taste. White squash tastes fab.

On the brown cat-squash, there are two B genes... this is going to stand for Brilliantly short maturing period (lol) White squash only has b genes, which means not-so- brilliantly short. Brown squash doesn't taste so good, but it does ripen in the british summertime, which white doesn't do that well.

So the squashes reproduce with each other, and because of their particular genetic makeup, all of their offspring have exactly identical genetic profiles, in that they all are SsBb. This is generation 1 or f1. Because the capital letter genes are dominant over the lower case ones, all these squashes will not only taste fabulous but they will ripen in the summer, they are reliable.

However, as has been said, squashes are sluts, and they will have been busily reproducing with all the other squashes in the allotment all summer, so the seeds they are carrying will be generation 2, or f2... and you can see on the cat diagram thats where the issues start. You could get squashes that won't ripen, or that taste bad, or both. You could also get a squash that is not only equal in quality, but better... this is how new varieties are made after all. but for everyday gardeners, most want something that's pretty muh guaranteed to work, well, the weather and so on notwithstanding. And bear in mind this diagram only shows the interaction of two genes, when in reality there will be far more chances for it all to go a bit wrong!

[Snadger]

That right Chris - exactly what everyones saying - However - I grew a lovely Butternut squash (see my pics) from a seed I saved from a supermarket BNS. I think that if you save from your OWN squash they are more likely to have been polinated with any number of other squashes (due to no one growing too many plants of any variety at once!) but a butternut squash grower is unlikely to have anything different in the vicinity....

I think, and hope you're right as my allotment neighbours have put all there eggs in one basket and used seeds from shop bought butternut....................

[Helgalush]

Aw thanks for all the replies everyone. I am sorry if my post caused confusion. I actually found the answer by doing a google search, which led to me an old thread on here from a few years ago, which explained everything. But typically I havent saved it...but I think its all been covered here.

As I only have a very small garden (and grow nearly everything in containers), I decided that it wasn't worth the effort to end up with something that might be fruitless. I'm better using my energy and space for things that are more 'guaranteed'. It could have worked, but I think if I am going to grow BNS another time, I'll just buy some seeds!

Thank you all for the explanations, very helpful.