Honeynut Winter Squash Seeds

Name: Honeynut Winter Squash Seeds
Brand: Botanical Interests
SKU: 3182
Price: 2.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 3.80 (5 reviews)

Organic

#3182

This packet sows up to 4 mounds.

(5 reviews)

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Availability: In Stock

A renowned farm-to-table chef and a Cornell breeder worked for 6 years, crossing the flavorful, savory butternut with the sweet buttercup, to create this more manageable, 4"–5" butternut. The thin, edible skin signals ripeness by turning from green to terracotta, either on or off the plant. Compact vines are great for containers or trellises. Plants are resistant to powdery mildew and squash vine borers. Stores up to 6 months.

$2.99 10 seeds

Qty:

Botanical Name: Cucurbita moschata

Days to Maturity: 110 days

Family: Cucurbitaceae

Native: Northern Columbia

Hardiness: Frost-sensitive annual

Plant Dimensions: 24"–36" vine

Variety Information: 4"–5" fruits start out green with orange mottling, ripening to a pale terracotta. As a combination of butternut and buttercup types, 'Honeynut' is very sweet with very smooth-textured flesh.

Type: Butternut

When to Sow Outside: RECOMMENDED. 1 to 2 weeks after your average last frost date, and when soil temperature is 70°–85°F.

When to Start Inside: Not recommended except in very short growing seasons, 2 to 4 weeks before your average last frost date. Roots sensitive to disturbance; sow in 4" biodegradable pots that can be planted directly into the ground. Transplant when soil temperature is at least 60°F.

Days to Emerge: 5–10 days

Seed Depth: 1"

Seed Spacing: 2–3 seeds per mound

Row Spacing: 4'–6'

Thinning: When 3" leaves, thin to 1–2 per mound

Harvesting: Harvest when the squash's rind is hard enough that you can't dent it with your fingernail and before first frost. Cut stem, (don't break it off) leaving 2" of stem attached, which keeps the squash whole, leaving no opening for infection. Though fruits are hard and may seem indestructible, treat them gently; bruising can spoil squash.

Squash (Winter): Sow and Grow Guide
Hand Pollination for Squash, Cucumber, Melon, and Watermelon
Squash: Pests and Diseases
Three Sisters Gardening: Native American Compation Planting

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Honeynut Winter Squash Seeds Reviews

5 reviews

Delicious

Dec 30, 2019

A delicious little squash, truly a single serving. A mini butternut but richer in color and flavor. Roasted with a little oil, salt and pepper is all it needs. It's terra-cotta color let's you know it's ready to harvest. The vines are short and productive. I will definitely be growing the Honeynut again.

Angel

Beautiful Plant and Tasty Fruit

Jul 17, 2020

This is a pleasure to add to the garden. The lush green leaves add excellent ground cover and visual appeal to my garden and this is a heavier producer than I expected. Fruit is very tasty - like butternut squash, but a sweeter and richer taste. Highly recommend - this would even work in a somewhat smaller garden (compared to other winter squash varieties).

Katelyn Huffine

My wife says these are

Oct 5, 2020

Interesting squash, prolific but a little smaller than should have been probably because grown in containers. Love the color change which indicates maturity. Seed package did not have many seeds and the first pot of 3 did not survive. However the later grown plants did very well and we picked over a dozen about 3-4 inches long. Can't wait to try them!

Jeff Marino

cute, but not productive

Nov 28, 2020

I planted 2 plants and ended up with 2 squash. We did have a weird weather year, which may have been part of it. However, I had 3 large, 4 small, and a multitude of tiny butternuts from the regular butternut squash I planted in this area the previous year. Overall a disappointment. :(

Christina Goodwin

Owner Response: Hi Christina, We are sorry you didn't get more squash off of these plants. In good conditions, you can expect 5 or maybe more per plant. There are a few reasons squash can underproduce. We mainly hear of pollination issues. While many common, fruit-bearing crops like peppers or tomatoes are self-pollinating and don't require pollinators, squash, melons, cucumbers, and other cucurbits are dependant on them. Squash flowers need to be visited about 4 times to be pollinated and produce fruit otherwise, the flowers will fall off or a tiny fruit will shrivel off the plant. European honeybees don't do as good of a job as native bees so even if you see bees from time to time in the garden they may not be the workhorses that evolved with squash and pollinate thoroughly. it is such a common issue we added an article and video on hand-pollination that you can find in the learn more tab of this product page. Another reason can be soil nutrients. Over time soil becomes depleted or amending soil can create an imbalance. For example, highly nitrogenated soils promote lush greenery but at the expense of fruit and flower production. A soil test is a quick, easy way to understand your soil and what amendments it may need. Moisture is another factor. Once a seed germinates its success is dependant on environmental factors like the above. I happen to live in the same city as you and harvested 5 squash that were a little smaller than usual, but my plants got a bit shaded on the trellis by larger cultivars. We are always happy to help troubleshoot issues like this with you. Please don't hesitate to contact us for help. We sure hope you will try again--this squash is delicious. Happy gardening!

Poor Germination

Nov 30, 2020

I successively planted the whole packet, but only 2 seeds actually germinated and I lost those plants to powdery mildew. Planted these in fall, which is our prime growing season, but we had a lot of rain, which is likely the reason for the powdery mildew. I was able to save 1 squash that ripened on my windowsill.

Aviv

Owner Response: Hi Aviv, Large seeds are prone to rotting in very moist environments which may have been what happened to your other seeds. Starting seeds indoors for up to 4 weeks before transplanting may be helpful in very wet conditions. We test our seeds frequently to ensure germination rates exceed federal and our own standards and we do guarantee our seeds. A customer service agent will contact you to help.