How to Grow Butternut Squash Seeds
Butternut squash has a sweet flavor, which is why many people enjoy adding it to their favorite dishes. The squash grows well in home gardens but it needs adequate room to grow. Prepare the garden before planting seeds to ensure that they have the proper nutrients in the soil as well as plenty of space. Plant the butternut squash seeds during the warmer months and you will have squash in the early fall. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Start Seeds Outdoors
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Prepare a location in your garden for the butternut squash seeds. Butternut squash thrives in USDA Zones 4 and above. You can begin growing the seeds indoors before the threat of the last frost, or you can plant them outdoors after the threat of frost passes, typically around May. Choose a location that receives plenty of sunlight with room for the squash to grow. A space of 10 by 10 feet will yield enough room for around 12 squash plants.
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Add 1 inch of compost to the soil and work it in with a garden hoe or tiller. Cover the top of the soil with 3 inches of mulch and allow the mulch to sit on the soil for 4 weeks. Add fertilizer to the soil according to the fertilizer package.
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3
Plant the butternut squash seeds in hills. Make hills with your shovel, and keep them 3 to 4 inches high, 1 foot across and at least 4 feet apart. Plant the seeds ½ to 1 inch deep in the soil, and 4 inches apart. You can plant many seeds to each hill because you will need to move the seedlings once they germinate.
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Water the seeds. Water them every three days until they germinate. Refrain from over watering the ground; you only want the soil to remain moist. If it rains, only water the seeds when the ground no longer remains moist.
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Thin the hills down once the plants reach 4 inches in height. Thin the hills so that there are only three plants to each hill. This will give the butternut squash plenty of room to grow.
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Harvest the squash once the vines dry, before the first frost in the fall. Cut the squash at the stem with a sharp knife, leaving behind 2 inches of the stem on each squash.
Start Seeds Indoors
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Fill the bottom inch of a 3-inch pot with seed compost.
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Plant a butternut seed on its side or place the pointed end down. Fill the pot with a compost mixture to 1 inch from the top of the pot.
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Water the seeds and place them in a windowsill that receives sunlight. The seeds will germinate in seven to 10 days. Water the plants every two to three days, but avoid over watering them.
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Place the pots outside to harden them to the outdoors. Start by placing them outdoors for one hour a day, and slowly increase the time until they can tolerate being outdoors in the sunlight for six to eight hours.
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Remove them from the pot. Add compost to the soil. Plant them at the same depth that they were growing in the pot. Make hills with your shovel, and keep them 3 to 4 inches high, 1 foot across and at least 4 feet apart.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Butternut Squash image by DSL from Fotolia.com
