All-America Selections names 'Butterscotch' winner

The All America Selections Committee has chosen Butterscotch, the newest butternut variety developed by Johnny's traditional breeding team, as a 2015 National AAS Vegetable Award Winner.

Butterscotch is the eighth AAS Winner chosen from more than 50 new vegetable varieties introduced by the team over the years.

 

Deirdre Birbeck, Johnny's Plant Breeding Technician for winter and summer squash, shared additional observations about the Butterscotch flavor during the breeding process. "From the breeding end, I can tell you that the first cross was made in 2011, and that was grown out in 2012. We made the cross again in 2012. Just before Christmas in 2012, we tried eating it for the first time.

 

Birbeck summed up the team's findings, "After comparing our notes (following a taste-testing) that December, we knew that we had something very special. After that, we went into a pilot production for 2013 and submitted it to AAS, and the rest is history."

 

The AAS team of judges came to a similar conclusion regarding the vegetable entry's merits. This small-fruited butternut squash has all the market and plate appeal of the vogue baby and mini vegetable category. Measuring just 6 inches in length by 3 inches in breadth, Butterscotch matures approximately 10–14 days earlier than many of its larger Butternut cousins. The plants' compact vines allow gardeners of every scale to grow outstanding winter squash, whether they're a commercial producer, kitchen gardener, container gardener, rooftop gardener — or they simply want to maximize the number of plants grown in whatever space they have available. The AAS Winner also has resistance to the powdery mildew that can often plague cucurbit plants.

 

Butterscotch seed is available for immediate sale from Johnny's Selected Seeds.