Question
Greetings,

 I live in central New York and this year I grew six Butternut squash plants from my own seeds from a store bought Butternut Squash the previous year.  At harvest time i discovered that more than half the squash were round, just like a pumpkin, and only four were of the longer shape squash i,m used to seeing in the store.  Can you explain this.   Dave.  Thank you for taking my question.

Answer
What most likely caused this is that the squash from which you harvested the seed was a hybrid and not an heirloom. The difference between hybrids and heirlooms are that heirlooms produce exact replicates of the parent plants. The characteristics, including taste, color, and size, are identical.  Hybrids, on the other hand, produce fruit that contains a combination of the plants from which it was bred. These vary, even within the same plant. That it why you are best to purchase hybrid seed from a breeder rather than harvesting your own.

I hope this answered your question. Good luck, and enjoy your weekend.

Regards,

Mike