No, based on expert advice often associated with garden vegetable patches, you should generally not eat "wild" squash that have grown spontaneously.
Understanding the Warning
While the term "wild squash" can refer to truly uncultivated species, the warning from garden contexts specifically advises against consuming squash that pops up unexpectedly, perhaps from dropped seeds, in areas like garden patches. This spontaneous growth is often what is meant by "wild" in this context.
The reference emphasizes this point:
Squash from garden vegetable patches: Do not eat "wild" squash that have grown spontaneously. Do not collect seeds from previous harvests for re-sowing. Buy new seeds each time you want to sow them in the vegetable patch.
Why Avoid Spontaneously Grown Squash?
The caution against eating squash that grows spontaneously, or saving seeds from previous harvests, stems from potential issues related to cross-pollination and the resulting compounds that can make squash bitter and potentially toxic.
- Cross-Pollination: Squash varieties, especially from the Cucurbita genus (which includes pumpkins, zucchini, summer squash, and winter squash), can easily cross-pollinate. If edible squash varieties cross-pollinate with ornamental gourds or other wild Cucurbita species that contain high levels of bitter compounds called cucurbitacins, the resulting fruit grown from those seeds can be bitter and cause digestive upset or more severe reactions.
- Cucurbitacins: These are naturally occurring, bitter compounds found in varying levels in cucurbits. Cultivated squash varieties have been bred to have very low levels. However, cross-pollination with wild or ornamental types can lead to high concentrations of cucurbitacins in the fruit, making them inedible and potentially harmful.
Because you cannot easily tell if a spontaneously grown squash is the result of undesirable cross-pollination and contains high levels of cucurbitacins, the safest advice is to avoid eating it altogether. This is why buying new, reputable seeds each time is recommended for reliable and safe harvests from gardens.
