Winter Squash Seeds- South Anna Butternut, ORGANIC - Sow True Seed

Winter Squash Seeds - South Anna Butternut, ORGANIC

$4.75

Description
Planting Info
How to Grow
Saving Seeds

Cucurbita moschata

Developed by the dedicated and talented breeder Edmund Frost from Common Wealth Seeds in Virginia, the South Anna is a downy mildew resistant butternut type that is bred specifically for the South. Edmund has worked for many seasons on this cross between the Seminole pumpkin and Waltham butternut and has selected the best year after year for mildew resistance, high sugar content, fantastic flesh texture, and long storability. Really, this squash will knock your socks off!

The healthier foliage of South Anna can help provide higher yields and better fruit quality, with sweet, nutritious flesh in a vibrant, bright orange color with a darker tan skin than most other butternuts. When used as a late planting, South Anna grows strong until frost, allowing for later harvests that will keep better into the winter and spring.

South Anna is an Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) variety. OSSI is a movement to help protect seed from corporate monopolization. Read more at www.osseeds.org.

SMALL FARM GROWN by Common Wealth Seed Growers, Louisa, VA

Minimum Seeds per Packet: 12

Packet Weight: 3g

Planting Season: After Last Frost

Sowing Method: Direct Seed or Transplant

Seed Depth: 1"

Direct Seed Spacing: 6"

Soil Temperature: 65-85 ℉

Days to Sprout: 5-10

Mature Spacing: 24-36"

Sun Requirement: Full Sun

Frost Tolerance: Frost Sensitive

Days to Harvest: 95

When to Seed Squash

Squash, both summer and winter squash species, are warm season crops. They need warm weather, lots of sun, and room to grow and, in some cases, sprawl. You can direct seed your squash seeds or start them indoors six to eight weeks before your last frost date. Either way, do not plant your squash outdoors until all danger of frost has passed. Winter squash have longer days to harvest times than summer squash, so take that into consideration when deciding what varieties to grow and when to plant them.

Where to Plant Squash

Choose a location with full sun and amend the soil with compost ahead of planting. Almost all winter squash varieties are vining types. Most summer squash varieties will not vine and grow in a bush habit, so you don’t have to worry about sprawling as much. But when it comes to growing vining types, make sure wherever you plant them, there’s enough room for them to sprawl. Squash can be planted slightly more closely together, and will save space, if being grown on a trellis! Utilizing vertical space saves square footage in the garden.

Growing Squash

Sow seeds ½ inch deep and, if direct seeding, six inches apart. Transplant or thin your seedlings to 24 to 36 inches (for winter squash) or 12 to 18 inches (for summer squash) as they germinate and grow. Allow for four to six feet of space between rows if growing on the ground. Squash is pretty low maintenance once established, though there are a number of pests to watch out for. Summer squash matures a lot faster than winter squash and should be harvested regularly and eaten fresh. Winter squash varieties should be left to fully mature and cure ahead of eating. Be sure that your squash plants get at least one inch of water per week.

Harvesting Squash

Summer squash and winter squash are both harvested a little differently. For summer squash, once your plants start producing, check them for mature squash daily. Avoid leaving summer squash to get too large as this can lead to decreased production. Ideally, you’ll be picking crookneck and straightneck varieties when they are one to one and ½ inch in diameter, zucchini varieties when they are six to eight inches long, and pattypan types when they are three to four inches in diameter. Use shears to cut one inch above the fruit, on the stem. For winter squash, you want to harvest once the fruit has turned a solid color and the rind is hard. Make sure to harvest before a hard freeze. Leave two inches of stem and more if possible. This will help prevent rot. Field cure your winter squash in dry, sunny weather, or cure your squash indoors in a well-ventilated space. Curing allows for longer storage. Store winter squash in a dry location around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure there is enough airflow around each fruit.

Squash, Cucurbita spp.

Pollination, insect; Life Cycle, annual; Isolation Distance, ½ mile

Squashes are an insect pollinated monoecious (male and female flowers on the same plant) annual that are very high producers of nectar, making them very attractive to pollinators, especially honeybees. There are four species of squash commonly grown in North America: C. maxima, C. argyrosperma, C. Moschata, and C. pepo. Because the four species do not cross with each other, this allows you to grow four different species in the same garden. Squash must be fully mature before harvested for seed production. This means that summer squashes must be left on the vine until the outer shell hardens. Allow to cure for an additional 3-4 weeks after harvest to encourage further seed ripening. Cut open fruits and scrape out seeds and pulp into a jar or bucket, filling with an equal amount of water. Ferment seeds for 2 to 4 days, pour off the floaters and wash the rest of the seeds clean from the wet chaff. Spread on a screen or several sheets of newspaper to dry thoroughly before storage. This could take several weeks.