What fun squashes! Thanks for sharing the history and the picture.

Great looking squash, George!

I find your post interesting because one of my four butternut vines is producing something similar to those you described - a combination of a butternut/cheese type shape. It's like a butternut with a short, stubby neck, a ribbed base that is somewhat broader than normal, and the standard butternut buff coloration. Having never seen or tasted a Warsaw Buff Pie Pumpkin, I wonder how similar the two are.

The vine has produced 3 medium sized fruits so far that just recently "buffed" up. I'll leave them alone for another few weeks, but my roasting pan is eager to give them a try.

How does the taste, texture, and moisture level of your Warsaw variant compare to standard butternuts or other winter squash?

Any chance you might be willing to exchange some seeds? I'd love to give yours a try come spring.

Steven

Well, I suspect that the "original stock" for butternuts probably included more than just the crookneck form. We lived for some years in Mexico and it was interesting to observe the landraces of squash in several different regions. These are old populations of squash with a similar phenotype, yet within the landrace there is A LOT of variation. At some point I'm sure that all squash were found within some landrace or other. It seems that a very limited number of cultures have a penchant for refining varieties.

My wife and several others tell me that Warsaw Round and Warsaw Buff Pie are both a bit deeper orange than a butternut. My guess is that there are butternuts which are nearly the same as these squash on the inside. They are very similar.

I did grow Golden Cushaw (close relative to butternut, but shaped like a cushaw) back in the 80s. It has nice deep orange flesh, but the texture wasn't as fine as a butternut.

My seed supply is, unfortunately, kind of low. This year I planted this one in a less than optimal spot. Then, when it was close to blooming, I planted a row of Warsaw Buff Pie Pumpkin only about 20' away. That second planting started flowering a lot sooner than I expected, so there is some chance of a cross between the two. I have VERY FEW seed from the one Warsaw Round which I know was set before the WBPP started blooming. My guess is that the rest of the seed is 95% likely, still, to be pure. I could send you some of that, if you would like (when I cut them :) If there is a cross, the result will probably be a mix of predominantly the Warsaw Round with a few fat butternut shaped fruit mixed in. It would be easy to hand pollinate and select back to the Warsaw Round shape again.

In 2009 I plan on growing the Warsaw Buff Pie Pumpkin (WBPP) instead of Warsaw Round. I'm trying to grow a good size planting of whichever I grow and let the plants cross freely among themselves. During the 90s I hand pollinated exclusively; and I lost the original mix (regaining it again, as per above). Drop me a private e-mail if you would like some of this seed.

George

Here's another photo. This is a slightly different shape which occurrs within The Warsaw Round strain.

This is so interesting!

Do you have any spare seeds for this pumpkin? If you do I would love to buy some-

If not, I would love to get some next year.

Thanks-

Karl Granat

Karl, drop me a private message by clicking on my screen name/ profile. Send me your e-mail address.

George

George!

I received the seeds from you last year and have been wanted to write you and let you know how my last planting went. My computer crashed and I lost all my data so I am glad to see you posting so I could let you know!

The second picture is the form that produced for me last year. I managed to get two to ripen.

I am planting them again this year!

Mac,

I just emailed you earlier today... and forgot to ask if you managed to create any more of your "family strain" of WBPP round. If you have a couple of those available, I would be VERY interested in growing them out.

Thanks again for the very interesting post and all the great information you share.