Early Butternut Hybrid
 

Has anyone grown this one or Burpee Butterbush? I love the flavor of Waltham Butternut, but the vines are far too long for my short garden space allotted for them. I would really like to get that good flavor, though, and could use some recommendations for next year.

For the same reason and for the fact that it's much earlier, we've settled on Burpee Butterbush after many years of garden trials and seeing which kept the best and tasted the best after storage in the basement all winter. Early Butternut, Metro, Baby Butternut, Autumn Glow, Turtle Tree Butternut, JWS6823 and others haven't done as well for us and the fact that it's an open-pollinated variety is a bonus. It won in the taste and storage categories. The fruits can vary in size from small to quite large and shapes aren't exactly the same like the hybrids are but that doesn't bother us.

[QUOTE=kath;299889]For the same reason and for the fact that it's much earlier, we've settled on Burpee Butterbush after many years of garden trials and seeing which kept the best and tasted the best after storage in the basement all winter. Early Butternut, Metro, Baby Butternut, Autumn Glow, Turtle Tree Butternut, JWS6823 and others haven't done as well for us and the fact that it's an open-pollinated variety is a bonus. It won in the taste and storage categories. The fruits can vary in size from small to quite large and shapes aren't exactly the same like the hybrids are but that doesn't bother us.[/QUOTE]

Hey kath, that puts it all in a pretty good nutshell! Butterbush it will be. I really appreciate the input. :cute:

[QUOTE=halleone;299896]Hey kath, that puts it all in a pretty good nutshell! Butterbush it will be. I really appreciate the input. :cute:[/QUOTE]

Hope you like it- I've got plenty of seeds to share if you didn't invest already.

[QUOTE=kath;299902]Hope you like it- I've got plenty of seeds to share if you didn't invest already.[/QUOTE]

I haven't invested yet; do you know if they are usually available on the store racks in the Spring? Being cheap, I'd rather save on those overpriced shipping costs, if ya know what I mean. :twisted:

Your offer of seeds is very gracious; I KNOW there isn't a tomato I've got that you don't already have, most likely - I've been faithfully following that photographic thread. Well maybe I do - I just got my Dester seeds......

Oh kath, one more question - are they a true bush, or just shorter vines? I will trellis them if they do vine somewhat (I just can't trellis those humungous Waltham's).

This isn't one I've been able to find in the store on the racks. I've either had to make the trip down to the Burpee outlet store or order them online. Now that it's the only squash of its type that I'm going to grow, I can just save seed. I still have plenty of commercial seed to share though and don't need anything in return- really.

The vines are way way shorter than Waltham's, which is what I started out growing at my previous garden, but don't expect a bush. I can measure them and get back to you but I know the vines get to at least 5', which still is a pretty decent size circle if that's the radius. I've had luck attaching them to teepee type trellises but they don't climb on their own. It did keep them within a small garden area, though so it was worth the effort. This year I planted them under a cattle panel trellis in hopes of attaching them and it was a disaster because by the time they grew long enough to reach the bottom of the panel, the leaves were too big and the vines too rigid; so they're sprawling all over the sweet potatoes, pathways and into the corn.:roll:

[QUOTE=kath;299916]This isn't one I've been able to find in the store on the racks. I've either had to make the trip down to the Burpee outlet store or order them online. Now that it's the only squash of its type that I'm going to grow, I can just save seed. I still have plenty of commercial seed to share though and don't need anything in return- really.

The vines are way way shorter than Waltham's, which is what I started out growing at my previous garden, but don't expect a bush. I can measure them and get back to you but I know the vines get to at least 5', which still is a pretty decent size circle if that's the radius. I've had luck attaching them to teepee type trellises but they don't climb on their own. It did keep them within a small garden area, though so it was worth the effort. This year I planted them under a cattle panel trellis in hopes of attaching them and it was a disaster because by the time they grew long enough to reach the bottom of the panel, the leaves were too big and the vines too rigid; so they're sprawling all over the sweet potatoes, pathways and into the corn.:roll:[/QUOTE]

I'll send you a PM about seeds....

so kath if the vines are short (5') how many fruits does 1 plant yield? i grow waltham and the vines get quite long and that's not a problem. i get 4-5 per plant maybe more but i think that is average, i'll know in 4 weeks. just curious, seems shorter vines would mean less fruits but maybe not?

tom

[QUOTE=tjg911;299976]so kath if the vines are short (5') how many fruits does 1 plant yield? i grow waltham and the vines get quite long and that's not a problem. i get 4-5 per plant maybe more but i think that is average, i'll know in 4 weeks. just curious, seems shorter vines would mean less fruits but maybe not?

tom[/QUOTE]

Let me get back to you about the vine length and # of fruits tomorrow- promise I'll go out and measure and count. We always give away lots of them and still have enough for us to keep eating them until spring.

While I've never grown this Burpee Butterbush, I have grown a few other varieties of "bush" or semi-bush squash varieties and most of them give as many fruit as the viney types if not more. Usually 3-5 or more / plant.

One thing tho, -- don't over fertilize a bush variety or it WILL vine.

The last 2 years Hubby has been rather heavy handed with the pre-plant fertilizer. The Festival, which is usually very compact, has vined out into the haul road.

Carol

Sheesh- I must've fertilized too much! Some of the Burpee Butterbush vines are approaching 10'! They're such a tangle that I can't count fruit/vine so I'll give a tally after harvest.

Probably.

We have our squash on a new property for us. Hubby put a whole lot of fertilizer on it before he even knew what kind of soil it was. Because the whole area around it is sandy, he assumed it was also sandy. But it turned out to be nice black peat.

We seeded during the worst of the hot and dry weather for us. Germination was slow so he took the aluminum irrigation pipe over there and used the pond right next to the field to "water them up". He also irrigated at least once or twice after they were up. So now we have some HUGE winter squash. I mean 8 - 10 lb spaghetti squash and butternuts that look as big as those "Ultra" variety (10 lbs +) even tho the varieties I have should only be in the 3-4 lb range. I don't know how I'm going to price them to reflect what they are worth or the work we have into them.

Carol

I planted 2 Waltham butternut squash and the vines were too long for the gardne plot and as they had set some on I chopped off the vines. They were watered good this summer and I have hauled in the squash. Biggest is 19# and others 11 to 15 pounds. They are not butternut shape. Color okay. One is little yellowish. Surely butternut never gets to that wt, I know chopping the vines and limit the squash will get bigger I guess. Surely butternut can not get this big as classed small squash. 6 squash and smallest was 5 1/2 # and I have wt total in the 6 at 79#. I am not sure ripe but had to bring in dues to the weather. When they kept getting bigger I thought spaghetti and but way to big for them too. Several are 20" long.

Sunflower it sounds like you had big butternut squash?

Being in the community garden seed from mine could be mixed . I could save seed. I have not cut one open yet. Not sure how will taste.

Actually some of the larger butternut varieties CAN get over 15 lbs.

We have many in the 6-8 lb range this year. But they are all with the butternut "peanut" shape and nice tan color.

If you bought the seed, even in a community garden you should get what you bought. It would be the seed IN those squash that would possibly be crossed, not the fruit itself.

Carol