Growing Butternut Squash in Taita Taveta

Soil suitability analysis based on Taita Taveta's nutrient profile

Taita Taveta County is well suited to Butternut Squash, scoring 87/100 on ShambaIQ's soil-match model. Local soils average pH 6.64 — neutral and inside the 5.5–7.5 band Butternut Squash prefers, so no lime is usually required. The main gap is potassium — measured at N 0.97 g/kg, P 12.9 mg/kg, K 104 mg/kg against this crop's medium/medium/high demand — so the fertilizer plan below prioritises closing that deficit. The county's predominantly loam soils suit Butternut Squash, which favours sandy loam. On ShambaIQ's soil-match model, Butternut Squash is the #19 soil match of the 106 crops we assess for Taita Taveta County. At current prices (about KES 40/kg) and a typical 10,000 kg/acre yield, a well-managed Butternut Squash crop here can gross roughly KES 400,000 per acre.