Waltham Butternut is the gold-standard butternut squash that virtually every modern tan winter squash is descended from. Developed at the Waltham, Massachusetts agricultural station and released in 1970, it took the 1970 AAS award and instantly became the benchmark for flavor, storage, and uniformity.
 
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
Fruit: 8–12 inches long × 3½–5 inches wide, 3–6 pounds (average 4–5 lbs), classic straight-necked butternut shape with a small seed cavity and thick, solid neck. Smooth, tan rind that turns deep beige when fully cured.
Flesh: Deep orange, dense, silky-smooth, very sweet (often 11–13% sugars), nutty, almost no stringiness. This is the flavor people mean when they say “real butternut.”
Days to maturity: 95–110 days from transplant (105–115 from direct seed) — a true full-season squash, but worth every day.
Vine habit: Long, vigorous vines (10–15 ft spread). Needs room to spread but make excellent candidates for trellis'.
Yield: 4–8 fruits per vine under normal conditions; 6–10+ when pampered.
Storage: Legendary — 4–8 months (sometimes until the next harvest) when cured and kept cool and dry.
 
Growing Tips for Maximum Yield
Transplant seedlings only when soil is 70 °F+, then space plants 4–6 feet apart in your sunniest, richest bed (add extra compost or aged manure — this is a heavy feeder). Side-dress twice: once when vines start running and again when fruits are softball-sized. Water deeply and consistently all season (mulch heavily to keep roots cool and moist); drought stress causes smaller fruits and thinner flesh. Harvest when the rind is fully tan/beige and impossible to dent with a thumbnail, then cure in the sun for 10–14 days before storing. With this treatment, two or three vines easily produce 40–60 pounds of the sweetest, longest-keeping butternut you’ll ever taste.

Sold in 4" pot containing at least 3 vines.