# Alternatives to butternut squash



## Randy Rooster (Dec 14, 2004)

I am looking for a winter squash alternative to butternut. Mine just dont ever do well here ( vines always die in early summer and the squash are very small)and Id like to give something else a try. I want a squash with a orange or yellow flesh that keeps very well in dry storage. Flavor is important too of course.

thank you for any suggestions.


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

Red Kuri is a favorite of ours. But if you have some disease or insect problems affecting your butternut squash, they may have the same effect on other varieties. Are you successfully growing any other squash now?


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## Randy Rooster (Dec 14, 2004)

Hey Jim-

I successsfully grow both yellow squash and zuchinni- I think downy mildew is one of the biggest problems I have here.

What kind of squash is red kuri?


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## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

I like acorn squash. To me the flesh and taste and texture are similar to butternut but I actually prefer the acorn. 

I've grown Table Queen both in bush form and in vine form and the fruit is identical, just the growth habit varies. 

To fight downy mildew, spray with a 1:4 milk:water mixture. Repeat every three days until the problem goes away.


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## tomakers (May 27, 2007)

I can't imagine having problems with butternut. Here it is almost foolproof. It is the one of the squash I have never had a problem with. Anyhow I second the acorns or maybe buttercup which is also a much better squash IMO (at least in taste) than butternut.


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## RoseGarden (Jun 5, 2005)

Here is my suggestion, if you have a 100 to 110 day growing season...the dreaded Seminole pumpkin. We had the _wettest _ June on record this summer, and it was just overall a very,_ very _ wet spring and summer. We are something like 15" BEYOND our normal annual rainfall, and it's not even the end of the year yet. Anyway, the Seminole pumpkin did not get a speck of disease, no kidding. Vines are extremely long and vigorous, mine grew across the front yard, up the persimmon tree and down the other side of the fence, down through the front ditch and up the other side and out into the road where passing cars kept the tips of the vines pruned. Supposed to be "to 25 ft. vines". Hah, more like 50 ft. + for me. Fruit are variable shaped, some like a butternut, some pumpkin shaped, some like a neck pumpkin. VERY small seed cavity. Flesh comparable to butternut in taste and texture, maybe a bit better than butternut. Definitely my standard now for winter squash simply because it had ZERO powdery mildew, downy mildew, bugs didn't eat the leaves. There were some late vine borers but as this squash literally has a humongo tap root coming out of each node, the borers didn't make a dent in the vines. They're squash from hades, for sure, but excellent in terms of vigor and quality. If you have room I would really suggest trying this one.


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## Picea Pungens (Nov 19, 2007)

The Delicata is a beautiful and delicious winter squash.


Cornell's Bush Delicata has been named a 2002 All-America Selection (AAS):


http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Oct01/DelicataSquash.bpf.html

Eighty days from seed to harvest and will store for over 3 months with a bush habit. Plus it's an open pollinated variety so the seeds can be saved.


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## goatsareus (Jun 23, 2007)

we are having this same problem. Butternut squash used to be a staple for us. Then after maybe 12 years, the vines started dying back way too early. We quit growing any winter squash for about 10 years, and tried it again last year, got an okay crop last year, but this year was pitiful production. We are considering growing way more sweet potatoes, they have done very well for us, nothing has bothered them. But i will also look into the Delicata and the semiole pumpkin suggestions...thanks


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

Red Kuri looks a bit like a redder pumpkin. It and another favorite of ours, Stella Blue, are considered Japanese or Asian Hubbard types. Flesh is kind of dry, but we think that they are better flavored than some others. We also grow Waltham butternut with no problems, and usually an acorn of some variety, and a couple of others that may vary from year to year.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

I got to try the round blue hubbards a friend grew. DELICIOUS! 

My fav. is buttercup but none of my (winter)squash did squat this year. I think my manure piles were not aged enough.

Is red kuri same as "red eye"?


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## MaineFarmMom (Dec 29, 2002)

I have much better results with Waltham butternut than any other kind of butternut. I grew 7.5 lb squash this year. I've never had good results with Ponca butternut. I like Red Kuri too.


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## Randy Rooster (Dec 14, 2004)

With all the disease problems down my way, I like what Ive read abot the seminole pumpkin squash. I think I will give them a try this year if I can find some seed. 

thanks everyone for the suggestions!


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