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  • From: Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] wrinkling butternut squash
  • Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2011 10:14:58 -0500


On Feb 8, 2011, at 9:58 AM, cjmaness AT juno.com wrote:

Beth,
I don't have any butternuts in storage, but I do have acorns, and they are starting to wrinkle, or shrivel up. I've eaten a few, but they just don't taste as good as they did earlier. I don't know much about winter storage of veggies, but I think I would have been better off growing Hubbard's, or one of the other squash specifically for long term storage. I think butternuts and acorns are good for about 3 months?


In my experience, butternut keeps much better than acorn. Most acorn varieties don't keep very well at all, only a couple of months; though Cream of Crop white acorn will store a bit longer. Most butternuts I've grown will store till around March (from a September harvest), though they do need to be checked at least once a month as an occasional individual squash will go bad faster and may turn into a gooey mess all over the others.

Hubbards do keep longest, again in my experience.

If the wrinkled squash still have good flavor, I'd say they're fine to use, but use them soon, as they won't hold much longer.

Store winter squash above 50º F if you can, and fairly dry. For the first couple of weeks after harvest, keep it warmer -- 80's or 90's; I cure mine in the greenhouse. The temperature doesn't have to be consistent, if they're cooler at night it won't hurt them; but they mustn't freeze, at any point, and long periods of time below 50º aren't good for them.


-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale







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