Butternut Squash

Our garden did not get a lot of water this year and still, our Butternut Squash grew well. 

We stared by amending our soil with decomposed chicken manure and some Epsom salts. Then, in late spring, I planted the squash on flat land and watered it in well. 

Typically, if you are not getting any rain, you would want to water deeply once a week. 

Squash will vine  6 foot or more. You can see in the image above the squash is vining. We had some that vined and covered the garden path. The one in the image above wanted a lot of space and it eventually went and vined outside the fence. 

Each plant should produce at least 3-4 squash that weighs 1 lb- 5 lbs. The squash in this photo at the top of the page weight left to right 2.75lbs and 2.25 lbs according to our kitchen scale. We have had some that weighed much more than that this year.

To know when it is time to pick squash, insert your fingernail into the outside. If it is tough to get through, you will know it can be picked.

I cut our Butternut off the vine leaving a little stem on each one I bring in. This helps them prevent rotting as quick. I bring them inside and rinse them and then peel them with a vegetable peeler. I typically use ceramic knives on most of my softer vegetables but when it comes to cutting the squashes, I  cube them using our Clauss Titanium knife. 

Sometimes, I cook them down so they can be mashed and frozen, and sometimes I Blanche and freeze them so so I can later throw them in the roaster.

If you wish to store squash awhile, place them in a shallow cardboard box and put them in a cool room that does not get much light