Compost Seedlings-Will they produce?

10 years ago

Hi Everyone! I have googled this topic with no luck, so hoping someone has some knowledge of this subject!

We started a compost pile last year. Over the winter we must have not layered and turned it properly? --because come spring we had several vegetable seedlings sprouting from the pile. We excitingly transplanted them all to our garden and they have all thrived wonderfully. Zucchini, tomatoes, watermelon, and maybe yellow summer squash. We have several flowers on all plants.

But after doing research a sec ago, a website said that vegetables propagated from store bought scraps (hybrids typically) will flower but won't produce vegetables. Is this true?

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Comments (6)

nc_crn
10 years ago
Not true.

They will produce something, but it may or may not (usually may not) be true to the type that was bought. That said, it's usually something close to what it was and rarely something awful.
woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
10 years ago
Yeah...I've never understood the belief that hybrids won't produce.

With that train of thought, if I sow saved seed from a hybrid lettuce, all i get will be the ROOTS???

Of course, we won't get into plants that cross-pollinated with another in the same genus and left the offspring with sterile seeds.

Kevin
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highwaygardener
10 years ago
If you grew more than one species of squash, they may have cross-pollinated last year. The fruit you get this year may be a mixture of the types you planted last year--that's just the way squash is not matter if the seeds got saved on purpose or by accident in the compost :-)
gsweater
10 years ago
For the last several years, I've just let my pumpkins and cukes grow away in the compost and they've done excellent. This year, I noticed some of the celery plants I tossed in there last year came up and I left them. They're outperforming those in my main garden lol!!!
seysonn
10 years ago
Hybrid is just another name for cross pollination but in a controlled and designed fashion to obtain certain characteristics. So the hybrid, if it is not full established, the seeds/plants from it might go after one of its parents. It is so obvious the hybridizer cross some of tha best plants not trashy ones.
elisa_z5
10 years ago
I've gotten excellent kale, lettuce, arugula and mustard greens from the compost bin.

But when it comes to squash family, I turn them under. Squash is promiscuous, in that it normally cross pollinates when given a chance, and so you roll the dice as to whether you'll get something good or something inedible. (I've grown the most bitter cantaloupe EVER in the compost).

So the question is, with squash and melons, do you want to give garden space, time, labor and resources to something that might be great, but might not be?

Since they're already flowering, sounds like it's worth the experiment to see if what they produce tastes good. If yes, then great. If not, then rip them out and plant fall greens :)

This post was edited by elisa_Z5 on Tue, Jul 9, 13 at 12:23