butternut squash question

I just purchased a butternut squash from the supermarket and really enjoyed eating it, I was wondering if I can save the seed and if they will produce a true butternut squash plant.

Carmen

I'm not sure if the seeds are true but I have to agree they are yummy to eat!

Chances are, they'll grow true....this is odd for squashes, but butternut belongs to the
C. moschata species and it shouldn't cross with C. pepo or C. maxima (which are your most common squashes)

I can't guarantee this, not knowing the circumstances in which it was grown...but you have a good percentage of getting butternuts like you just ate.

Interesting to think that those from the store would be some type of an heirloom and not a hybrid, but it would be worth a try.

I have grown butternut in years past and can't remember the name or if it was even a hybrid. LOL No one in my family would eat butternut but me, so I stopped growing them. I had a very high yield-- JILLIONS of butternut squash, in fact. So look out!! Luckily, I've recently converted/convinced my husband, though, to butternuts and acorn squashes, so this year, we'll grow some.

Butternut does have a longer growing season than some of the more watery zucchini types of squash. Take that into account on your plantings, but being in Florida you shouldn't have a problem with the growing time required. Butternut squash (like other winter squashes) can be stored in a cool, dry, dark place and you can enjoy your harvest well after your crop has been picked from your garden.

Chances are exellent that the butternut variety is Open Pollinated...which is different than Heirloom. All heirlooms are OP, but not all OP seeds are Heirloom.

Open Pollinated simply means that this plant will come true from it's own seed each year. Heirlooms are at least 50 years old and most folks will agree that they should be saved by families or communities and that they haven't been in commercial production.

The most popular butternut variety is Waltham. It's hard to beat for productivity and ease of growing...even commercial farms use Waltham seeds. I'd bet money that your supermarket butternuts are Walthams...or Waltham Improved...and there is a slight chance of cross pollination if your squash was grown near a field with another C. moschata species...and I wouldn't trade the seeds till I'd done a 'grow out' next season.

I'm not one for planting stuff that won't grow into what is expected...but I'd take this chance with this particular squash. All bets are off on any other squash...this is the only one that I'd take a chance on.

Thank you so much for all your help, actually I saved the seeds I thought I could give it a try. By the way I saw the picture of the waltham butternut and it looks just like the one I ate so I think you may be right melody.

There are some butternut hybrids out there, but I'm with Mel on this one. Even with the scarce chance of the seeds coming from a hybrid, I don't think you'll get anything disappointing. They'll still be butternuts.

I save my butternut squash seeds from year to year BTW, I do plant the Waltham, and have had nothing but success with them. However, after about 3 years of saving seeds, I buy new ones and start all over again.

Defocat, you may want to keep on saving seeds for as long as possible. If you save the seeds from the nicest fruit on the happiest plants, then you'll eventually have a strain that's specifically adapted to your garden spot and gardening practices. Squash don't suffer from inbreeding suppression as some plants do.