The Case of the Squelon

I was enjoying my Saturday morning earlier today when my darling husband calls me outside.  "Sweetie, you have to come see what is growing in the garden!"  I had images of some giant plant eating fungus springing up overnight as I had spent a great deal of time in the garden yesterday and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. But then again, sometimes my powers of observation leave much to be desired. 

Anyway, the photo below is what my darling husband had unearthed. 

Currently, it is about as large as the seedless watermelons one sees in the stores these days.  We have no idea what it is, except that is from the Family Cucuribitaceae, which means it could be a melon, a squash or a little bit of both (hence, squelon).

This rogue fruit was a volunteer in the asparagus patch (and has decidely taken over that bed, which is fine as the asparagus season is over) so we decided to leave it there and see what developed.  Obviously, we're not sure yet.

Squash and melon are in different genuses so they shouldn't easily cross pollinate, but it's probably not out of the realm of possibility.   It is important when planting your squash to keep in mind that there are only four species: C. pepo, C. maxima, C. mixta and C. moschata.  The reality of the situation is that all summer squash (zucchini and yellow squash), acorn squash and most pumpkins are C. pepo, and if you're like me, you plant several of these in your garden each year.  I also have planted both buttercup and hubbard squash right next to each other, both of which are C. maxima. Which may be why I have the rogue squelon growing right now. We also try to grow melons every couple of years, which may have contributed to this mix.  The seeds could also have come from any farmers-market melon that we bought and then mulched the seeds from. 

We'll simply have to track the squelon's progress over the next couple months to see what finally takes shape.   I would like to think it is at least edible, if not roasted, perhaps then in a soup. 

Happy gardening.