Plant · P-207

Butternut Squash

Cucurbita moschata

Butternut Squash produces a fruit that keeps up to nine months in storage, carrying enough vitamin A in a half-cup to cover half a day's need. It tolerates light shade better than most squash, so it can run out from under a young orchard row instead of needing open field, and a solid, pithy stem makes it far more resistant to squash vine borer than its relatives. The leaves and seed also feed livestock well - squash leaves have replaced up to 75 percent of soybean meal in rabbit diets - though the fruit itself is a poor stock feed and is worth more kept for the table.