Crops › Butternut Squash (Pumpkin) › Nekota
Nekota
Butternut Squash (Pumpkin) in the US
A smaller, early maturing butternut type, perfect for quick harvests. It's a good one if you want to get your squash crop in a bit sooner.
Sow window for Butternut Squash (Pumpkin) generally, zone 6.
Buy Nekota seeds
Partner retailers. If you buy through these links we may earn a small commission. It never costs you more.
How to grow it
Right, getting these started. You can sow butternut squash indoors about 2 to 4 weeks before your last frost date, especially if you're in a cooler zone like USDA 5 (sow May) or 6 (sow April-May). Pop seeds about an inch deep in individual pots. Make sure the soil is warm, mind. For zones 7 and 8 (sow April-May, March-April respectively) or warmer zones like USDA 9 (sow March-April), you can direct sow them straight into the ground once the soil has warmed up proper after all danger of frost has passed. They really don't like cold feet.
Once your indoor-sown plants have put on a couple of true leaves, they'll need hardening off. That means gradually getting them used to the outdoors over a week or two, you know, before planting them out. Wait until well after your last frost. Give each plant plenty of room, like 3 to 4 feet apart, as they do sprawl. You can let them ramble over the ground or try to train them up a sturdy trellis if you're short on space.
Full Butternut Squash (Pumpkin) guide →
More Butternut Squash (Pumpkin) varieties
Track your Butternut Squash (Pumpkin) from packet to plate
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.
Allotment keeper in the North East of England, the voice behind the Tony C Smith YouTube channel, and the gardener who built GrowMore CookMore. Club numbers on this page update as members log their plots. Last updated 3 September 2026.