Growing Organic Butternut Pumpkins
I like to grow enough butternut pumpkins to last throughout the year. I love how they ramble through the garden. We love pumpkin soup through winter and roast pumpkin, so I usually put in 10 or so plants, which provides enough for us and a few to give to friends.
They are so easy to grow, I don’t know why everyone doesn’t have a part of the garden for them. All they need is a little fertilizer and water – too easy.
See in this picture how there are the two tiny pumpkins just forming, then a semi-mature butternut in the middle of the picture and the ripe one behind it. Butternuts seem to grow in spurts in my climate.
A tip for new gardeners with butternut (and all pumpkins) is to leave the butternut on the vine until the vine has withered down at the end of the season. Then you can remove all your pumpkins and store them in a cool, dry area – in a netting rack in the shed works for me. Oh, and leave the stalk bit attached to the pumpkin or you will invite bacteria and mould will form and ruin your pumpkin.
Give them a try. They are sooooo rewarding and easy to grow. You can even get seed from a butternut you buy at the supermarket. Just scoop out the seeds, remove any inners and leave them to dry. After a week or so they are ready to plant. They need a longish growing season to reach maturity, so plant in mid-spring after risk of frost has passed.
Happy Organic Gardening,
Julie
Filed under: vegetables
Hi there
Am a big fan of butternut pumpkin … i would like to know if you know a place or online website where they sell the seeds because i want to grow them .. i looked on yahoo but i didnt find it anywhere.
so kindly let me know if you know any websites they sell the growing seeds.
Thank you so much in advance.
Regards
Hi Salah,
I’ve bought organic seeds from here in the past and they are very good: http://www.greenharvest.com.au/seeds/organic_seeds_index.html But I’m in Australia and so is greenharvest. The best way to source organic seed in your country is do a Google search such as “organic seed” and include your country.
Kind regards,
Julie
If you want seeds next time you buy a pumpkin keep the seeds from that one and just put them on a plate in your window to dry out. Then at the start of your next season plant them. we have one growing in our greenhouse and there are about 6 pumpkins on it. it is a real DIY plant. Don’t buy seeds if you are going to buy another pumpkin to eat soon.
hope this helps
shelly