Cross pollination is not an issue. This year's fruits are genetically determined by the seed you planted. Cross pollination does not effect this year's fruit since the fruit itself contains DNA from the mother plant only. However, if you plant seeds from this year's fruits next year, all bets are off, since those seeds may contain genes from unknown sources. The elongated football and the tall zucchini are almost certainly pumpkins, which can assume various shapes. If the fruits are on a long vine, that's a pumpkin. Zucchinis are on much shorter, bushier vines.

So if the plant looks like a zuc, it's a zuc...if it's growing on a plant with "vines", then it would be a pumpkin of some kind and just let it go to see what happens?

I'm familiar with zucs & squash but this is the 1st that I've had any success with pumpkins...and I'm stumped. Thanks so much! LC Grace

Since I understand that you planted seeds from a pumpkin from your grandfather-in-laws farm, did he have other types of squash growing. If so you could easily have pumpkin any other C. pepo crossed. It sounds like he also grew zukes. Pumpkin is a squash, just a specialized name for a specific type. Pumpkinni(s) occur pretty often among seedsavers.

We picked the pumpkins from his farm from a dedicated pumpkin patch....The veggie garden was about 1/2 mile away. I'm not sure of his source of seeds though.

I did check my pumpkins and the football shaped thing...they're growin out of the same plant and on vines. I'm going to keep watching them and see what happens. It seems I've got a pretty good pumpkin crop from my few plants!

Thanks for your thoughts!! LC Grace