The Triffid's children

Some weeks ago I talked about a self-seeded plant that I nicknamed The Triffid, which had invaded an area of the garden originally set aside for French Beans. The plant was obviously some sort of squash and since the squash is a prised vegetable in this household the decision was taken to allow the interloper to grow.

A month or so down the road said squash plant has produced fruit, some of which are maturing nicely. I'm still not entirely sure what we have growing, but believe they could be Kent Pumpkins.

The Kent Pumpkin is also known as Kabocha or Jap/Japanese pumpkin. It is sweeter than most other varieties and I'm told it is great in soups and salads. Whether I'm right about the variety or not, I'm going to be enjoying eating these one day soon.

Is that a Triffid in my garden?

A large patch of my garden has been commandeered by a self-seeded plant. When we first noticed it growing we could see from the leaf that it was some kind of squash, so the decision was taken to leave it in the ground and allow it to grow... we had no idea back then how big it would get!

The (still growing) Beast

As you can see it is just starting to flower now so we should be able to identify the thing soon... I do wonder if it's a pumpkin?

For scale - my left hand against a leaf

I'm sure the leaves are too big for any kind of melon and they're the wrong shape for a member of the courgette or marrow family. It's definitely not a cucumber!

I'll keep you posted as the fruits develop, but mean time I'm thinking about having a go a cooking Muboora.

Squash & Pumpkin leaves are not only edible they are high in calcium and also are a good source of vitamins A, B6, C, protein, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, folate, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and manganese. They can be eaten raw but cooking brings out the true flavour of the leaf. The younger leaves are more prized during the beginning of the season as they are very tender. Larger leaves of certain varieties may need deveining. They can be steamed like spinach, sauteed in some olive oil with garlic and salt or used in a stir-fry.