Squash Sibelle F1 plants - Cucurbita moschata

The Butternut Sibelle F1 squash, also known as crookneck pumpkin, is a hybrid variety resistant to powdery mildew. It produces fruits weighing between 1 and 1.5 kilos, with beautiful orange skin and excellent-tasting flesh.

Butternut squash, Sucrine du Berry, and others belong to the Cucurbitaceae family, of the genus Cucurbita moschata. This annual herbaceous plant has long, vigorous, trailing, or even climbing stems with strong tendrils. Each plant has separate male and female flowers, making it monoecious. The female flowers will bear fruit once they are pollinated by the pollen from the male flowers.

They are usually elongated in shape, with a swollen club-shaped end, sometimes spherical, flatter, or ribbed. Their colour is also highly variable: dark green, orange, cream, etc. When ripe, they are covered in a characteristic dust. The peduncle has five distinct ribs and widens as it spreads at the point of attachment to the fruit. The flesh is thick and of a rather dark colour, ranging from red to orange.

Harvest and storage:

Harvest the squashes as late as possible but before the first frosts. Keep the peduncle (the stem of the fruit) as large as possible and store them in a cool room (10 to 15°C (50 to 59°F)), making sure they do not touch each other. This way, you can store them for several months to a year.

Gardening tips:

You can bury the stems at the nodes to encourage rooting.

To save space and protect your fruits from rot, you can cultivate pumpkins on supports such as a trellis or sturdy stakes. You can also place a tile or brick, for example, between the ground and the fruit to isolate it and reduce premature rotting. A thick mulch will also do the trick.