Want information about different varieties of butternut squash? You've come to the right place. There are several different butternut squash varieties available to the backyard vegetable gardener. Most varieties are fairly similar in appearance and taste, with slight variations. When choosing a variety of butternut squash, first determine if you want a compact type plant or one that spreads vines out in excess of 8 feet or more. This decision depends on the amount of room you have in your garden for butternut squash plants. If you want to grow butternut squash in containers, look for varieties with "space saver", "bush" or "compact" on the label of the seed packet.
If you don't have much space but still want to grow a vining variety, you can consider growing your butternut squash vertically. Keep in mind that the fruit can get a bit heavy, so you'll need a sturdy support structure. We've grown lots of winter squash vertically, including butternut. We've used a trellis and a sturdy fence. We've found the best way is to use a sling to support the squash as they grow. The best material we've found for a sling is an old pair of panty hose, but we've also used mesh bags. The idea is to tie the sling securely to the support structure just end the emerging fruit. As the squash grows bigger, it will settle into the sling and most of its weight will be taken off the plant.
We are often asked about which is our favorite butternut squash variety. We really like Rogosa Violina Gioia, which is an Italian heirloom variety. It is by far the best tasting butternut squash we've ever had. It produces very large squash that average 10+ pounds each. The plants get huge, with some vines running 30 feet or more, and the squash mature at around 95 days. The flesh is deep orange, sweet, nutty and fairly dry with almost no stringiness. The squash is shaped like an hourglass and features a bumpy skin. We really like that this variety has shown good disease and pest resistance in our garden. In addition, these squash have kept very well for almost 6 months in our root cellar.
Here is a list of some of the more common butternut squash varieties, along with plant and fruit descriptions...
Click on the following links to learn more about growing your own butternut squash.
Click here to learn about planting butternut squash
Click here for information about watering and fertilizing butternut squash plants
Click here for help diagnosing and curing common butternut squash plant problems
Click here to learn about harvesting butternut squash
Click here for some of our favorite butternut squash recipes
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