Last updated on March 12th, 2021
I’m dreaming of luscious soups, sauces, and savory side-dishes today. Why? Because my butternut squash is begging to be harvested! Here’s how to pick, cure, and store this powerhouse of fiber and beta carotene:
How to Harvest, Cure and Store Butternut Squash
Wanna see butternut squash growing with gusto on a cattle panel trellis? Watch the (mercifully-short!) video above.
The time to pick winter squash (i.e., butternut, acorn, Hubbard, and pumpkin) is when stems have shriveled, vines are beginning to die back, and shells have hardened. If you can’t scratch a shell easily with your fingernail, it is hard enough. Cut cleanly from the vine with hand-pruners, keeping one to two inches of stem intact.
Next, permit the squash to “cure” — that is, to heal its cuts and scratches — in warm, moist air. Ideal curing conditions are 75-85 degrees F., and 80-percent humidity. These conditions are not easily achieved during a typical Northeastern autumn. Thus I compromise slightly, and place the squash in full sun on my wire-mesh patio table for 10 days.
After curing, move the squash to cool storage. There’s no compromising here: temperatures between 50-55 degrees F., and 50-70 percent humidity are the rule. I usually stash the squash in the barely-heated North Wing (previously the “Kitchen Wing”) of this creepy old house. A slightly-heated garage or proper root cellar would work as well. Then again, you could simply cook and freeze the squash!
In any event, winter squash should never be stored on a cold, damp basement floor. Nor should it be stacked. Stand the harvest on a table in one layer, or arrange it, single-file, on shelves. Stacking leads to injured produce, and this invites rot. And like the proverbial apple, one rotten squash can spoil the whole bunch.
Shelf life for winter squash that has been properly cured and stored:
Acorn – 2 months, perhaps a little longer
Butternut – 5-6 months
Pumpkin – 3 months
Hubbard – up to 6 months
Spaghetti – 2-3 months
Yes, I’m dreaming of snowy evenings, roaring fires, and comforting bowls of butternut squash soup. How ’bout you?
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Diane Luther Silvia says
Can’t wait for the butternut squash soup recipe. Wow! Prolific harvest from only 4 seeds. Loved watching. Thanks for making early Sunday mornings fun Kevin!
Leslie says
Kevin, weird is good, it keeps the nasty people away lol.
John says
Same here in northeast MA Kevin, I’ve harvested 6 so far and have at least 10-15 more out there. We did particularly well with butternut squash and eggplant this year.
Michelle Collins says
Fun & informative video, Kevin, and no weirdness in my book! I had such trouble this season with vine borers & squash bugs invading my various gourd varieties (6b, SE Pa). It was very frustrating as last year I had a lovely harvest. I had high hopes for some new varieties this year. Gardening keeps one humble and open to learn, doesn’t it? I’d like to try your cattle panel trick but am intimidated by the installation process, I feel I might knock myself out putting it up! Maybe I’ll build sort of a boxy trellis on a frame?? ThanksKevin!!
Janet says
You are a wonderful weird! Perfect timing on the butternut squash video as I have a bumper crop (for me) of various winter squashes to harvest. Some of mine are climbing a fence but most are sprawling so I definitely want to make a couple of cattle panels next spring. So looking forward to the recipes you come up with. Hopefully some will be adaptable to different varieties.
Linda Becker says
I loved this video because I love butternut squash. I moved from Arizona this spring after being there for 46-years. I’m now in Nebraska (where I grew up) and I’m very much looking forward to putting in a garden next spring. So, I’m taking your advice on putting in a trellis and turning those sparing number of seeds loose!! And, you’re not weird at all; you’re wonderfully unique!!!
Mary in Iowa says
Beautiful squash harvest! I’m so glad you installed the cattle panels. I love them. I’ve gotten mountains of Borlotto and black beans, as well as tomatoes from my panels, and they’re all still going strong. Haven’t harvested the squash and sweet potatoes on the panels yet, but one day soon. Please devise a recipe for Butternut squash pie to sub for pumpkin pie. Much love to you, Kevin.
Nancy says
Your comments were so reassuring. This was our worst year of vegetable gardening in terms of productivity in probably 40 years. But butternut squash and green beans took starring roles. So can’t wait for lots of butternut squash recipes. Peppers, lettuce and kohlrabi okay; eggplant, okra, yellow squash, cucumber and broccoli blah – very little production; lima beans never flowered; tomatoes our worst ever – very few and the squirrels and chipmunks thought they had priority – we are usually overloaded so never before minded sharing. No zucchini at all. Love your cattle panel ideas and hope we can get someone to build one for us next year. (Officially gardening zone 7A but feels more like 7B most of the time because we are fairly close to the Long Island Sound.)
Nancy says
P.S. I meant to say that typically much of our butternut squash last for a year – we still have one left from last year. We also grew a few trombone and spaghetti squashes that don’t last that long
.
Edie says
I am so impressed with your squash bounty! I have not tried growing winter squash …will try! Would love to know your formula for fertilizing…soil…compost…was this just a good year for rain? Do you always have such great success with butternut squash? Perhaps you could give us a video on soil prep next spring. looking forward to your squash recipes!
Carole says
Best video yet. Do butternut squash also attract the squash borer which is so prevalent here in FL?
Marcy MacDonald says
Kevin I love Butternut Squash and I have a recipe for soup which has Itaian sauage in it. Your video was great and for sure next year, I will try to plant some. I don’t have a large garden any more because of downsizing, but I will use some sort of trellis for sure.
Thank you for all your videos, I love them.
Jacqueline Guest says
I love squash, especially butternut and am looking forward to lots of recipes. Thanks for the video and enjoy your weekend.
Barb says
Our dear Kevin!!! If you are weird, I wanna be like you! . Loved the video and so looking forward to those recipes.
Hi to Avery, Silver Fox and the kitties, too!
Frederique Jennette says
Fantastic harvest! You did a superb job establishing the framework, planting the seeds and then this wonderful display as a result. And it looks so beautiful too!! What a marvellous number of dishes will follow!!!!
Hollyrae says
Wonderful bountiful harvest, congrats!! It seems like such a short time ago that I watched you construct the cattle panel trellis. My squash of choice is a Boston Marrow; in 2015 I harvested 13 or 14 of them, each weighing at least 18 lbs. This year – ONE Boston Marrow 🙁 and only 4 butternut. If I was a pioneer lady I’d be one skinny-*ss woman LOL! Love your videos, commentary, recipes. Happy Harvesting, Holly from Northern Vermont
Katherine Cooperstein. says
Kevin,
That was enlightening! You are always fun and never wierd … we are your people. Looking forward to the Butternut Bonanza of recipes.
Katherine
Millie says
I’m interested in learning how to grow butternut squash in a very small yard. Can you grow in containers?
Carol T. says
Well I was a vision to open this morning! Lol. In any event, I love squash also. As for freezing, I buy heads of really fresh brocolli and cauliflower, cut them up and freeze them in bags raw also.
Have a nice week, Kevin
Nancy Dixon says
Hi Kevin,
Looking forward to your butternut squash recipes, especially soup. I don’t have a garden but always enjoy your tips and suggestions. Strange as it may seem, I don’t like to cook but I do enjoy watching cooking shows and videos and reading recipes. One thing I do like to make though is soup and live on soup during the winter. Thank-you for all you do !!
Nancy
Donna says
For years I have stored butternut squash successfully on the top shelf of a kitchen cabinet. Much warmer and dryer than you suggest. They often keep for a year.
Anne says
Really felt your newsletter on butternut squash was so pertinent to me right now. I too had a wonderful bounty of butternut squash- all from a seed I had saved from a squash we bought at Aldi last year! Doubly exciting! I love butternut squash! Anyway , I usually make soup out of it and in years past , found that cutting and peeling was not much fun although totally worth it for the end result. I have started stabbing the poor squash a few times and then microwaving it. It becomes soft – easy to slice and easy to scoop out the flesh right of the skin! I love the microwave for so many vegetably things! Loved your tips on storage. Gonna need that this year! Thank you for all your great recipes and info.
Pat C says
Kevin,
You are definitely NOT weird. You are totally authentic and delightful. I love your posts and videos. I wish I was your next door neighbor. Also, can’t wait for the butternut squash recipes.
Pat C
Kay says
Hello all,
I’ve been following Kevin since his very early days (somehow lucky enough to find him), & gardening for more than 25 years. This year was my first intentional foray into winter squash. Regarding curcubits in general (cucumbers & occasional volunteer pumpkins), I try from time to time, but have always lost to the cucumber beetles. That being said, I have so many questions & things to chat about! In no particular order:
@Mary in Iowa – Sweet potatoes on a trellis – WOAH, WHAT?! They don’t need to grow underground? Please, tell me more!!
@ Kevin – I LOVE that you also use the flexible plastic tubs as you garden. Mine are green & pink, and yours is a fun blue. They’re inexpensive (like, $5!), light, and FLEXIBLE, which makes it so much easier to haul stuff to compost. I’ve even drilled holes in the bottom & planted tomatoes in them, but don’t do that anymore because IDK if they’re food-safe.
@ Kevin – You, lucky you!, don’t appear to have beetle problems – how is this so?! I moved into a new house last year which hadn’t had a garden for at least 3 years, as neither had my close neighbors. I thought I’d be safe, but I was plagued by Squash vine borers & Squash bugs (yes, 2 different pests), which I’d never encountered in more than 25 years’ gardening in several homes within a 10 mile radius, as well as cucumber beetles, which, unfortunately, I’ve fought everywhere. I’ve spent the entire summer hunting beetle eggs & hand-picking beetles. I’ve been blessed with a bumper crop from my 5 plants, but, wow, have I worked for it!
@ you & the community – I want to try a trellis next year, which should help with the 2 different squash bugs, but how will it help against the cucumber beetles, which can fly? I’m a huge fan of beneficial nematodes. I’ve researched but haven’t identified any predators or insecticides to combat them. Only row covers, bait crops, and ‘hunting’. If the squash is up on a trellis, how can I hunt? I’d appreciate any/all suggestions!!
Re: ‘Seasoning’ @ 80 degrees… I question how necessary this actually is, given that Kevin, while your days might get close to 80 degrees, your nights are closer to 60 degrees. If I turn the oven light on, it keeps the oven at close to 80 degrees, but it would definitely be a hassle to empty & refill the oven every time I actually want to cook something. Has anyone had any luck storing them for several months without ‘seasoning’?
Re: Immature butternut squash due to the aforementioned beetles killing some of my vines… ARRGH!! I know they’re edible (the squash, and perhaps, the beetles!), but does anyone have any suggestions about how to preserve the immature squash &/or suggested recipes which use them (& again perhaps the beetles – heehee – yuck yuck!)
Thanks, as always, to you Kevin, as well as to this amazing community!!
Huge, longtime Kevin FANatic!!
Kay
Tonia says
Does butternut squash have to be cured ? Or can it be cooked from the vine I’m a beginner and only got 3 this year. Thank you!!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Kay – Thank you for following me all these years! If your winter squash has developed a hard shell (as indicated by the “fingernail test”), it is probably cured enough. No need to jump through hoops to provide ideal conditions! And regarding vine borers, I don’t know why they did not attack my butternut squash. Just luck, methinks!
Hi Tonia – Yes, you can cook butternut squash right after harvesting it. Enjoy!
heather says
Your story is amazing and inspiring! I was brought here by your lavender shortbread cookies, drawn in by your conviction in writing! Thanks! I can’t wait to get ahold of some organic butternut squash seeds! I was just admiring a neighbors cattle panel yesterday and am glad to now know the name !
Susan says
I just found your site as I am looking for a way to store an abundant crop of winter squash in central Illinois. I have about 60 of various varieties. Over the years I have had trouble with squash borers, which devastated my crops. Last year I discovered the solution after trying every other recomendation. I now start my plants in pots, and don’t put them out in the garden until June. After doing this for 2 years, I have not seen a single squash borer. It somehow interferes with their cycle.
Conny says
I am in North Florida and I have my butter nut squash grow and ripen in May/June. I am not from here originally so gardening and seasons are so different and challenging. Loved your explanation of curing. We have ideal conditions for that right now. 75 degrees, humidity.