Honeypatch Squash Seeds

Cucurbita moschata

It’s been almost ten years since chef Dan Barber stood in the kitchen with vegetable breeder Michael Mazourek and asked him to build a better butternut squash. For Michael, it launched a new conversation around breeding for flavor. For Dan, it was the discovery of a new kind of recipe—one that begins with the seed.

That conversation helped to launch a little squash called the Honeynut, developed by Mazourek and his predecessors, Richard W. Robinson and Molly Jahn, at Cornell University. But Mazourek never sees varieties as finished. Noticing that the Honeynut’s thin skin caused it to go downhill in storage after November, he continued to tinker, selecting for outstanding flavor along the way. The Honeypatch squash is the delicious result: a longer-storing, single-serving butternut packed with flavor and beta carotene.

Days to Maturity

110 days

Appearance

Fruit: 5-6" long mini butternuts; 0.5-1 lbs. Short vine, 4-5' long

Field Notes

• Soil Requirements: Fertile, well-drained soils.
• Row Covers: Cover young plants to increase early growth and protect from insect pests. Remove covers at flowering to ensure pollination and fruit set.
• Spacing after Thinning/Transplanting
• Plant Spacing: 24”
• Row Spacing: 7’

Direct Seeding

• Sow seeds ½” deep after last frost, when soil temperatures reach at least 70˚F.
• Sow 1-2 seeds every 24”; thin to one plant every 24”.
• 6-12 days to emergence.

Transplanting

• Start seeds indoors 2-3 weeks before last frost. Sow seeds ½” deep. Optimal temperature for germination is 70-90˚F.
• Move transplants outdoors to harden off gradually for 3-5 days, protecting seedlings from wind, strong sun, hard rain and cold.
• Transplant outdoors after last frost, when soil temperatures reach at least 70˚F. Do not disturb roots when transplanting.

Pest + Disease Info

• Insect Pests: Cucumber beetles, squash bugs, and aphids. Pyrethrin, spinosad, soaps, row cover, or Blue Hubbard trap crops help prevent damage. Check undersides of leaves for eggs. Use best management practices such as crop rotation and removal of crop debris post-harvest to deter insect population growth.
• Diseases: Protect from powdery mildew. For fruit rots (anthracnose, scab, fusarium), bacterial wilt, and viruses such as cucumber mosaic virus, maintain good air circulation and schedule watering to allow plants to dry fully.

Harvest

Key words: Let it ripen.

The Honeypatch reaches maximum sweetness when allowed to stay on the vine. It’s ready to pick when the rind darkens and the green lines around the stem recede. Harvest twice as fruit ripen for optimal yield and quality. (If in danger of frost, harvest all fruit.) Handle fruit gently to prevent damage.

Storage

Fruit store well after curing. Cure at about 80˚F for one week. Store at 50˚F, 50% relative humidity, with air exchange for best storage. Higher humidity, up to 70%, can lengthen storage. Plan to use all by February. Monitor storage for fruit loss.

Seed Specs

300 seeds/ounce; 4,800 seeds/pound.

Slice in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Lay face up on sheet tray, brush with oil and season with salt. Cover with foil and roast at 400°F until soft enough to scoop with a spoon. Reserve brown sugar, butter and maple syrup for other uses; you won’t need them.