We had a pretty decent Butternut squash yield this year. I planted them in a new part of the garden, which I’m sure helped boost the yield. Plus, we had very few insects on the squash. As a result, we now have plenty of Butternut that will go into storage straight from the garden – unprocessed.
If you keep winter squash under the proper conditions, you can enjoy them well into winter. The most important thing to keep in mind is to leave the stem on the squash. This is true of all varieties of winter squash and pumpkins.
Winter squash store best with the stems left on.
If you plan to use them in the next week or two, then it really doesn’t matter if the squash has a stem or not.
Sometimes you can find farmers selling stemless winter squash at a deep discount. Other than cooking them for a meal, you can freeze or can those bargain farmer’s market squash to use later on.
If the stems are breaking off your squash as you pick them, use your pruning shear to cut the stems from the vine. You’ll find it’s worth the extra effort.
Store your best, unblemished squash in a spot that will stay around 50F and have about 50 percent humidity. You should be able to enjoy your home-grown squash into early 2013.
Bob