Cross fertilization between species

I have a small garden and I am trying to grow vegetables for the first time. I want to grow a couple plants each of yellow squash, zucchini, pumpkins, and watermelons. Someone told me that if I grow them close together they will become contaminated and not taste good. Is this true, or will it just affect the seeds for next year (which doesn't matter since most of my plants are hybrids, I think, and I don't know how to save seeds yet - just learning one thing at a time.) I am about to put my plants in as companion plants, but I don't want to waste my efforts by putting things together that will make the results inedible. Thanks!

Except for those vegetables (corn for example) where you eat the seeds cross pollination does not effect the crop. Cross pollination does not occur naturally between species. It can be done but it has to be manipulated. Yellow squash, zucchini, and many pumpkins are the same species (C. pepo) and cross readily but is only noticable in the next generation.

Dumb Question time...

I grow many types of heirloom tomato very close together. I also save seed. What are the odds of getting unexpected offspring?

Last year, I had a couple of brandywines very close to a pair of garden peach, for example. Could I get really big peaches or furry brandywines this year? I have not noticed anything strange in prior years, but as the store bought seed runs out, I am using my own seed more and more often. I must admit that the thought of my tomato plants being naughty (they were raised as brothers and sisters, how could they!), never occurred to me.

Ed

The odds are pretty low. but some crossing does occur. If I remember correctly somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 %.

Hey, Ed -

If you do happen to get a cross from those naughty tomatoes , maybe it will be a good one, adapted to your area:)

Kelly

Hi All!
I've read a bunch of posts, and my issue seems to go against what is being said. My husband and daughters planted zucchini and crook neck squash from store bought seed this season. I got a bunch of zucchini, and only one yellow squash. Then by early July my zucchini started coming in with more of a gourd shape, pear shaped, with a normal end and a fat end. The skin was super hard, difficult to cut even with a serrated knife, and large hard seeds inside. They smelled like pumpkins. My most recent fruit this week was orange on one side.

A month after my one yellow squash, I finally got one more. It was orange, hard, had lighter bumps all over it (like a gourd) and completely filled with the larger seeds.

I have to guess they were cross pollinated. I wish I had taken a photo of them! The question is, should I pull out all the plants and start again next year? How do I prevent it happening again? By the way, we only had pumpkins planted one season, about 3 years ago, with little success. I don't know what the neighbors are growing (but could find out). Thanks for any help you can offer!
~Lisa

Simply sounds as if you let them get too mature. As the vines get stressed the fruits get smaller and misshapen. When the skin is hard the fruit is too mature to use as a summer squash. Crosses this year have no effect on this years fruit.