Butternut Squash

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Whitefly

Whitefly

Aleyrodidae

A puff of white when you brush the leaf, and stickiness underneath.

, Cutworms

Cutworms

Noctuidae

A seedling lying beside its own stump in the morning, cut clean through at soil level.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

, Ground beetles

Ground beetles

Carabidae

Night-active ground hunters, taking slugs, cutworms and leatherjackets at soil level.

to keep them in check — plant African MarigoldGreat, French MarigoldGreat and French TarragonGreat nearby.

Growing from seed

Start Butternut Squash indoors about 3 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in warm soil (around 20–25 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 7 days. Move seedlings out once the danger of frost has passed, in full sun, spaced about 120 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 110 days.

Butternut Squash seed rarely stays viable beyond 4 years — track what's still worth sowing.

Companion Planting

• 
  African Marigold
  

  African MarigoldGreat pair

  • ❧African Marigold attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly that attack Butternut Squash
  • ❧African Marigold suppresses pests that trouble Butternut Squash
  • ❧African Marigold draws Bees and Butterflies that improve pollination for both
• 
  French Marigold
  

  French MarigoldGreat pair

  • ❧French Marigold attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly that attack Butternut Squash
  • ❧French Marigold suppresses pests that trouble Butternut Squash
  • ❧French Marigold draws Bees and Bumblebees and more that improve pollination for both
• 
  French Tarragon
  

  French TarragonGreat pair

  • ❧French Tarragon attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly that attack Butternut Squash
  • ❧French Tarragon draws Bees that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Butternut Squash acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around French Tarragon

How to grow Butternut Squash

1. Sow3 weeks before frost
2. Germinates7 days
3. Space120 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~110 days

Water: High · Height: 50 cm · Soil: Rich, well-draining, warm — mulch generously