Soil
Buttercup squash will happily grow in loamy garden soil enriched with organic matter and a pH range of 6.0 to 6.8.
If you aren’t sure what your garden soil is like, conduct a soil test and amend according to the results.
Water
As with other winter types, it’s best to water buttercup squash deeply, but infrequently.
Watch plants for wilting as a sign that they are thirsty. Depending on the weather, you may need to irrigate once or twice a week during the hottest days of summer.
To prevent fungal diseases taking hold on wet foliage, water at the ground level rather than overhead using sprinklers.
Fertilizing
Compost makes the best fertilizer for buttercup squash.
Be sure to mix some well-rotted compost into the soil before planting, and add a side dressing of compost once or twice during the growing season as well.
A couple of handfuls per plant will do the trick.
Cultivars to Select
Ready to select which type of buttercup squash to grow in your garden?
Here are some good options:
Bonbon
An All-America Selections winner in 2005, ‘Bonbon’ has orange colored, sweet flesh with a creamy texture.
Fruits weigh four to five pounds and are born on highly productive plants in 95 days after sowing or transplanting.
Burgess Buttercup
‘Burgess Buttercup’ is the original buttercup squash cultivated in North Dakota as a sweet potato substitute.
This open-pollinated variety is a cross between ‘Quality’ and ‘Essex Hybrid,’ two turban squash cultivars.
‘Burgess Buttercup’ is a vining type that produces harvestable fruit in 95 days.
Fruits weigh three to five pounds each and have richly flavored flesh that is a deep orange hue.
You can find ‘Burgess Buttercup’ seeds in a variety of packet sizes at High Mowing Organic Seeds.
Butter Belle
‘Butter Belle’ produces two- to three-pound fruits on high-yielding, semi-bush plants.
Fruits have delicious orange flesh and are ready to pick in 90 days.
You can find ‘Butter Belle’ seeds in an array of packet sizes at True Leaf Market.
Maintenance
In addition to the simple fertilizing approach mentioned above, the other two maintenance tasks for this crop are weeding and mulching.
Weeding is particularly important when plants are young and trying to become established. Once they take off, they will be able to hold their own against weeds.
One thing that can help keep weeds at bay is a light layer of mulch around the plants.
Pests and Disease
If you have the sun, water, and soil needs under control, there are two problems that can get in the way of an abundant buttercup harvest – pests and diseases.
Here’s what you’ll need to watch out for:
Pests
While beneficial insects abound, there are other bugs out there that can get in the way of us growing our own food.
Check your plants for these problematic insects:
Aphids
Aphids are tiny, but they can cause big problems. They feed directly on the foliage of plants, so check stems and leaf undersides.
Learn how to deal with aphids here.
