South Anna Butternut Squash Seed

Why Grow South Anna Butternut Squash?

Classic Butternut Shape with Exceptional Garden Performance South Anna Butternut Squash combines the familiar look and flavor of traditional butternut squash with the toughness and reliability of Seminole Pumpkin. This stabilized, open-pollinated cross was bred to thrive where other squash struggle, offering excellent vigor and strong disease resistance while still producing the classic butternut shape gardeners expect.

Sweet Flavor, Strong Disease Resistance, and Long Storage South Anna Butternut Squash produces 3–4 pound fruits with a slightly deeper tan color than standard butternuts and outstanding eating quality. The high brix levels give the flesh a naturally sweet, rich flavor that shines when roasted, baked, or pureed. With strong resistance to downy mildew, excellent performance in challenging growing conditions, and exceptional storage potential, this variety is a reliable choice for gardeners who want dependable harvests and squash that store well. Being open-pollinated, South Anna is also ideal for seed saving, making it a smart and sustainable addition to the home garden.

South Anna Butternut Squash Growing Tips

• When to Plant Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is a "warm season" vegetable that can be started indoors and transplanted, or directly sewn in the garden once the risk of frost has passed in the early spring months. Butternut squash typically take 110 days or more to mature, so be sure to plant early enough if you live in a climate with milder summers. You'll need at least 110 days of warm weather to produce a nice harvest of butternut squash.

Butternut squash plants can get quite large and will require a significant of space in your backyard garden. We don't recommend planting pumpkins near other vegetables because the Butternut squash vines will cover and smother nearby plants. If possible, dedicate a separate garden plot to pumpkins.

• How to Fertilize Butternut Squash

It's always a good idea to apply some pre-plant fertilizer to the soil when planting butternut squash. We like to add  Coop Gro organic fertilizer in the planting furrow or over an entire garden plot before planting. This ensures the plants have the right nutrients to put down roots in their new soil.

Fruiting vegetables like butternut squash will benefit from something called "spoon feeding." This process involves frequent fertilizations at lower concentrations, as compared to fertilizing them heavily once.

Once your butternut squash plants start to develop vines, feed them again with a relatively balanced fertilizer. We like to sprinkle Coop Gro around the plants or make a liquid solution of AgroThrive Fruit & Flower and pour that alongside the plants. Healthy, dark green butternut squash plants will be more tolerant of pest and disease pressure as they grow. It's important to feed them well early, because they're tough to fertilize once the vines have covered the soil.

*To learn more about growing butternut squash and/or pumpkins, watch this video.

• Harvesting Butternut Squash

Butternut squash are ready to harvest when you see the following signs. The plants will usually start to die back as they reach or exceed their listed maturity date. The butternut squash will also turn from green to their final color. The skins should be tough and unable to be scratched with your fingernail. Lastly, the stems will harden to the point where you need pruning shears to cut and harvest the butternut squash.

Wait until a vast majority of the butternut squash in your plot have matured, then harvest them all at one time. Store butternut squash in a cool dry place where they can be enjoyed for many months to come!