Squash, Butternut

Butternut squash plants are a type of winter squash. Unlike its fellow summer squashes, it is eaten after it reaches the mature fruit stage when the rind has become thick and hardened. It’s a great source of complex carbohydrates and fiber as well as high in potassium, niacin, beta carotene and iron. It stores well without refrigeration or canning and each vine will yield from 10 to 20 squash if properly maintained. How to grow butternut squash in the home garden is both easy and rewarding if you follow just a few basic steps. Butternut squash cultivation takes up a great deal of space in the home garden. Each hill should have at least fifty square feet for growing. Butternut squash seeds can send out vines up to 15 feet long. Fertilize well throughout the butternut squash growing season. Regular feeding will produce the most abundant crop as will keeping the hills weed free. Butternut squash cultivation should be done by hand or with a hoe. Don’t cultivate too deeply since the roots are shallow. Watch carefully for bugs and when the need arises, use insecticidal soap or apply insecticides in the evening when the bees have returned to the hive since bees are essential to growing butternut squash successfully. Your squash will be ready for harvesting when the skin turns hard and is difficult to pierce with your thumbnail. Butternut squash can be roasted or boiled and makes a particularly tasty substitute for pumpkin in pie. Once you know how to grow butternut squash, the possibilities are endless and your neighbors and friends will appreciate sharing your bounty.