Cucurbita moschata
If you like Butternut Squash, you'll love its ancestor the Canada Crookneck Squash. The present day butternut squash was selected from this elongated neck type. This variety is rarely found in the grocery store because of her unruly shape that makes her undesirable in the age of conformity and industrialisation. She is listed on the Slow Ark of Taste (check it out)
The yields of this vining type are impressive, and the fruit, averaging 12" inches is delicious and a great keeper for your winter reserves. It is very sweet and versatile. Some necks don't curve as much as others. Since they are much older than the common short necked butternuts, these are genetically diverse and as such much more resilient in the garden. We had no problems at all with squash vine borers.
This variety was first offered commercially around 1834, by Boston seedsman Charles H. Hovey. Most likely grown by the Iroquois for centuries before its commercialisation.
20 seeds per pack.
Seed starting:
Start indoors 3 to 4 weeks before last frost. Sow 1inch deep - they like warm soil to germinate. Plant out once the soil is warmed, after all danger of frost. You can also directly seed them in your garden once the soil is warm. They will not tolerate frost. Space plants 5ft apart for vining types, and 3 ft apart for bush types.