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'Waltham Butternut' Squash - Winter

Sub-Category:	Butternut

Sub-Category 2:
Description:	Butternut type. 6- to 7-foot vines bear 8- to 10-inch, bottle-shaped, smooth, light-tan, 4- to 5-pound fruit with deep-orange flesh, small seed cavities and thick cylindrical necks. Flavor improves with storage. Also known as 'Butternut'. All American Selection. 1970. Plant bears 4 to 5 fruit.
	AAS Winner in the year 1970
Days To Maturity:	82-105
Seed Sources:	Gurneys Seed & Nursery Co. - updated in 2019 Seed Savers Exchange - updated in 2014 Henry Field's Seed and Nursery Co. - updated in 2013

Rating Summary

Overall: (4.5 Stars) Taste: (4.7 Stars) Yield: (4.1 Stars) Ease/Reliability: (4.2 Stars)

Reviews

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Number of Reviews: 16

Posted Pictures by Reviewers:

KEY: O=Overall Rating, T=Taste, Y=Yield, E=Ease

Reviewed on 03/20/2011 by sadie - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	All Counties, Ontario, Canada Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Very nice taste. If we haven\'t used them all as they near the end of storage life (which is about 3 months for me) I cook them and freeze them. Good in pies and also the seeds are great roasted as the shells are not very thick.

Reviewed on 07/14/2010 by Schmidty - An intermediate gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Centre, Pennsylvania, United States Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
I grew this variety for two years. The taste is quite good, and I'm really impressed with the yields; about 3 squash per plant in clay soil and little fertilizer. The vines are pretty long, about 10 feet. They can get powdery mildew, but that's not really surprising. What impresses me most is their storage abilities. I still have one from last fall in the cabinet, and it's July 14!

Reviewed on 05/30/2010 by bobdodster - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Very reliable but late yielding. Very uniform fruits. Taste is excellent if allowed to completely mature. I have to put shingles under them to prevent rot and also cover them with small wire cages to prevent the squirrels from taking a bite or two and ruining them as they sit on the ground for quite a while until they ripen

Reviewed on 02/09/2010 by Joseph L - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Cache, Utah, United States Frost Free Season: Fewer than 103 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Boring for a squash because the size/shape/color of the fruits are so consistent and so predictable... Tastes great! This squash would produce better in my garden if my growing season was a few weeks longer. Fruits store in the garage until spring.

Reviewed on 02/02/2010 by genuinefauxfarm - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Bremer, Iowa, United States Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Light tan fruit with thick necks, orange flesh and small seed cavities. Cylindrical in shape and averaging from 4 to 5 pounds. Fruit actually taste better after a couple of months of storage. Butternuts are the most widely known winter squash and are most likely the kind you have tasted if you have had squash before. Unlike other winter squash, these have solid stems and vines (c.moschata), thus they resist vine borers. These store well and routinely last until spring. We like to plant borage nearby to attract pollinators and beneficial predator bugs. If you plant a hedge of borage, it can be used to 'hem in' your vines. But, if you have a small garden, borage can get fairly large.


1 of 1 gardener found this review helpful.

Reviewed on 01/31/2010 by prairiemoon2 - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
This is our favorite.

Reviewed on 11/27/2009 by Luffa Zar - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Dane, Wisconsin, United States Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
Squirles let me know when I needed to harvest. The one and only vine yeilded three tasty squash.

1 of 2 gardeners found this review helpful.

Reviewed on 03/31/2009 by jkersmanc - An intermediate gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Otsego, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 103 - 123 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
These were very productive and excellent keepers.

Reviewed on 11/20/2006 by Nancy Strasser - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Pulaski, Virginia, United States Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Easy to grow, and not bothered by Squash Vine Borers or Groundhogs. Very prolific squash. If you don't need a harvest of 10+ winter squash, you can pick some fruits small (3-4") as a tasty summer squash. As a mature winter squash (aged a few weeks after harvest), it is terrific (and reasonably-sized for 2 people). Its dry sweet flesh makes a terrific pie.

Reviewed on 10/23/2006 by Ottawa Gardener - An intermediate gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Ontario, Canada Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days Soil Texture: Sand Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
I have had not had the giant yeilds from this squash that others have had but still it is a very reliable producer. The squash stores extremely well, doesn't seem bothered especially by disease or insects (except the usual foliar problems late in the seasons) and tastes delicious. It makes an excellent pumpkin pie.

Reviewed on 01/19/2006 by MATERGIRL - An intermediate gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	York, Pennsylvania, United States Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
In 2005 I planted a few bought seeds and the plants grew prolifically. But they also grew right out of the compost heap where I had discarded seeds from a store-bought squash! These vines rambled over the grass in an enormous area. Needless to say, we harvested a lot of squash - probably about 100 lbs.! Luckily, these are the best-tasting, smoothest fleshed squash. Just cut in half, remove seeds and microwave upside down for 15 minutes on high. They taste like they already have salt, sugar and butter on them! They also store very well. Lots to love here! 2006: Devastated by squash bugs! But they are not bothered by the squash vine borer.

Reviewed on 09/22/2005 by Perdidojim - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Escambia, Florida, United States Frost Free Season: More than 203 days Soil Texture: Sand Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
Compared to several other varieties, this has been the best butternut squash over 15 years. Consistantly high yields of large fruit with excellent flavor and texture. One of its best features is that it is immune from the squash vine borer, which has been devastating other squash for me. The only drawback for a home gardener is that they take a lot of room - the vines will extend 8 to 10 feet.

Reviewed on 10/19/2004 by Gretchen - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Oneida, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 103 - 123 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Excellent tasting squash that is one of our favorites year after year, but we find we need to start seeds in the green house as well as in hills in the ground to assure that we have adequate pants with the rainy summers. Other wise, sometimes there is a tendency for the seed to rot in the ground.

Reviewed on 10/12/2004 by E Mancini - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Jefferson, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days Soil Texture: Clay Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40') Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Plants yield 3 to 4 god tasting fruit despite very wet year.

Reviewed on 09/24/2004 by Bruce - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Oneida, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 103 - 123 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
Terrible germination. We planted several times before we were satisfied that we had a crop started. The vines were prolific, but the fruits very small this year, half the size they should have been

Reviewed on 09/09/2004 by russell - An experienced gardener
Overall Taste Yield Ease	Ontario, New York, United States Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days Soil Texture: Loam Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20') Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
Large fruit, excellent yield with good quality.

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