Killer Zucchini

[wildseed2u]

Hi all, The other day I went out to the garden and picked a few zucchini squash and found that two or thee of the squash were so bitter that they were inedible. This is the first time I have ever had this happen to me, I want to add that I had bought the squash plants from a garden center so that I wouls get a jump on the rest of my Summer squash that I had planted from seed. This really cought me off guard as they were really bitter. It turns out that some of the varieties of zucchini squash can revert back to a wild stage and become quite bitter, what causes this is a toxin called Cucurbitacin E that is found in wild squash. It seems that certain enviromental factors like drought and high tempatures can cause some squash plants to turn on a genetic switch that causes the plant to start making this toxin. symptoms of poisoning by this toxin is a persistant bitter
taste in the mouth that won't go away, stomach cramps and diarrhea, and occasionally collaps and death. Most of poisoning by Cucurbitacin has been in Australia and New Zealand, but it seems that this problem is now happening here also. Most problems come from saving seeds from zucchini that has crossed with wild plants or gourds and from plants that have ascaped and come up on their own. From what I have read you should never keep any plants that are producing bitter squash as the likely hood of poisoning can occure.
I have not found any problems with plants that I started from seeds that I got from Baker's Creek and I believe that only one or two plants have this problem.
The main reason I am posting this is to alert people who are growing Zucchini so that should they find some bitter zucchini that they won't eat any as it will make them quite sick if they eat any.
George W.

[the_pumpkin_queen]

Hey George,
Are some varieties more prone to it than others? And is this with all squash or only zucchini?
~Jessi

[Helen Wong-Joe]

By cutting the ends off and rubbing (circular motion) against each end of the zucchini you will see white foams. The white stuff is what make the zucchini bitter. (By using this method you are "milking" the bitterness out.) You can use this method with cucumbers and other squashes.

[leelanau_ferg]

That's nice to know. My Boston cukes are insanely bitter and I thought it was jsut that I hadn't watered enough, or let them get too big. I'll try this.