Wig Out Waltham Butternut

Cucurbita moschata
(105 days) Open-pollinated. Elegant 9" tan fruits weighing 4–5 lb. Orange dry flesh has a sweet nutty flavor. Excellent keeper. Bred by the Massachusetts Agricultural Extension Service by crossing New Hampshire Butternut (a 1956 Yaeger/Meader development) with a neckless moschata from Turkey, and introduced by Bob Young of Waltham, MA. Won 1970 AAS. Continues to be Anne Elder’s most dependable winter squash. Caution: in cool summers fails to ripen in northernmost areas. Nevertheless, our best-selling winter squash variety.

We are offering three choices this year: conventionally grown, organic and this primo strain for the most fastidious among you: Wig Out Waltham A top-of-the-line strain, good for market growers or the most particular home gardeners. For those who get excited by good form, this is the choice for you. In two years of field trials it has proven to be the best in both yield and consistency, with near-perfect size and shape—no long or crooked necks to be found! ②

1689 Wig Out Waltham

Item	Discounted From	Quantity
A: 1/8oz for $3.75
B: 1/2oz for $5.25
C: 1oz for $9.00
D: 4oz for $21.00
E: 1lb for $72.00

Additional Information

Butternut group

About 360 seeds/oz, ⅛ oz packet sows 7 hills.

Culture: Butternuts should be started indoors to mature in our climate.

Butternut was introduced in 1936 by Joseph Breck and Sons of Boston, out of Canada Crookneck, an 1800s variety. The best keepers and the squash of choice in Zones 6 and south because of their relative resistance to the squash vine borers that torment other species. Butternuts contain 30% more vitamin A than hubbards and 80% more than acorns.

Cucurbita moschata

C. moschata are usually smooth and tan. They are the squash of choice in Zones 6 and south because of their relative resistance to the squash vine borers that torment acorns and buttercups. See also Cheese Pumpkin.

Winter Squash and Pumpkins

Days to maturity are from direct seeding; subtract 20 days for transplants.

Culture: May be direct-seeded or transplanted. Minimum germination temperature 60°, optimal temperature range 70–90°. Direct seeding: Sow 4–5 seeds per hill when weather has warmed after danger of frost. Allow 4–6' between hills. Thin to 3 best plants. Transplanting: Start indoors three weeks before setting out. Do not disturb the roots. Transplant bush varieties 18" apart, vining varieties 30" apart. For either method, use wire hoops and row covers to hasten maturity and reduce insect damage. Tender, not frost hardy. Heavy nitrogen feeders. Excessive heat and/or drought can prevent blossom set, reduce yields. Winter squash can take one or two light frosts on the vine. To improve flavor and storage, field cure for at least 10 days after harvest, covering if hard frost threatens. Store under proper conditions, at least 50° and 60–70% relative humidity in a place with good air circulation. Do not pile up squash. Inspect periodically and be sure to use damaged, stemless or small fruit first. Acorns have the shortest storage time before getting stringy, followed by delicatas, buttercup/kabochas.

Saving Seed: Saving squash seed is challenging! We list three species of the genus Cucurbita: C. pepo, C. maxima and C. moschata. Varieties of the same species will cross readily, but crossing will not occur between the different species. You must isolate varieties of the same species by half a mile if you want true-to-type seed. This is difficult for most gardeners—you may have to communicate and collaborate with neighboring gardeners, or exclude insects from blossoms and hand-pollinate. If you can pull off the variety isolation, processing the seeds is easy: rinse seeds from the guts of fully ripe and cured squash. Dry and store.

Diseases: BR: Black Rot, PM: Powdery Mildew

Pest: Striped Cucumber Beetle
Cultural controls: use tolerant or resistant varieties, rotate crops, till under crop debris soon after harvest, use floating row covers until flowers appear, use plastic mulch, perimeter trap cropping (Black Zucchini and Blue Hubbard make particularly good trap crops), use yellow sticky strips, hand-pick early morning when beetles are very sluggish.
Materials: Surround, Pyrethrum (PyGanic).

Pest: Squash Bug
Cultural controls: rotation, till in cucurbit debris before winter and plant a cover crop, boards on soil surface near squash will attract bugs overnight which can be killed, avoid mulching. Squash bugs lay their brown-brick red egg clusters on the underside of the foliage, often next to the central vein—destroy egg clusters on undersides of leaves.
Materials: Pyrethrum on young nymphs, AzaMax.

Pest: Squash Vine Borer
Cultural controls: butternut squash is resistant, maximas & pepos susceptible; rotation, plow in squash vine debris soon after harvest, use floating row covers, watch for wilting plant parts and destroy borer within.

Disease: Powdery Mildew
Controls: Use small plots to slow spread, plant indeterminate (viney) varieties, control weed competition.
Materials: sulfur and whole milk, mineral or other oils in combination with potassium bicarbonate.

Disease: Bacterial Wilt
Cultural control: Striped Cucumber Beetle is vector—control it; choose resistant varieties.

Germination Testing

For the latest results of our germination tests, please see the germination page.

Our Seeds are Non-GMO

All of our seeds are non-GMO, and free of neonicotinoids and fungicides. Fedco is one of the original companies to sign the Safe Seed Pledge.