Celebrate “National Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day” (August 8) the right way by mastering the art of growing zucchini, crookneck, and other summer squashes that boast perfectly tender skin and luscious summertime flavor. In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know to grow zucchini and summer squash from seed, how to keep these plants in containers or your garden, and how and when to harvest zucchini to maximize yields!
Note: All types of summer squash require very similar care and the tips in this guide can be applied to zucchini, yellow summer squash, crookneck squash, pattypan squash, and more.
Harvesting
When to Harvest
Most varieties of zucchini and summer squash take about 60 days after planting to start bearing fruit and those fruits are usually ready to be picked about a week after flowering. That said, there is some variabiliy in harvesting times, so always check seed packets for more exact information.
For best flavor and texture, harvest zucchini and squash when the fruits are about 6 to 8-inches long. Larger fruit can look impressive, but it has little flavor and the skins get quite tough. Once fruiting begins, check zucchini plants regularly and often as it’s easy to overlook a hidden zucchini and wind up with massive, but tasteless, fruit!
How to Harvest
When harvesting, cut zucchinis off the vine with a sharp knife and leave about 1-inch of stem attached to each fruit. Resist the temptation to harvest zucchini by pulling on the fruit as this can damage your plant.
If your zucchini are producing too well, you can slow down production by harvesting the fruit when it’s still small or removing all the male flowers. Zucchini flowers are perfectly edible and can be used as salad toppers or stuffed, battered, and fried. Towards the end of the season, harvest all remaining zucchini before frost hits as the plants and fruit won’t survive a cold spell.
Storage
Fresh zucchini and summer squash has a relatively short shelf life and can be stored, unwashed, in a plastic or paper bag in your fridge’s crisper drawer for about 10 days. If you end up with more zucchini than you can use straight way, you can also pickle it or blanch and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Types
Zucchini come in bush-type forms, which are best for containers and growing in rows, or vining-type plants that can be grown on trellises. Here are popular picks and what makes each stand out.
- ‘Cocozella (di Napoli)’: A heirloom zucchini with dark green, slender fruits and excellent flavor.
- ‘Goldbar’: A yellow summer squash variety with a sweet and nutty flavor.
- ‘Ronde de Nice’: A funky, French heirloom, this plant produces globular fruits — and lots of them!
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Comments
If a flower is not pollinated enough (it requires several visits), it can result in small or deformed squashes (such as small squashes with tapered ends, and only a few of the seeds inside maturing); hand pollination will help new flowers along (squash has male and female flowers). Sometimes cool weather will slow pollinators, causing inadequate pollination at the time of flower formation.
Since the fruit seem to be tasty and not misshapen, and if the plants seem healthy, it probably is not a virus, which can deform fruit as well.
Check the end of the fruit--if it is brown, it might be blossom-end rot, which is caused by not enough calcium intake. In this disorder, fruit develop up to a point, then brown at one end and rot. Even if soil has calcium, the plant needs enough water to draw it in--if you think this may be the cause, make sure the plants are consistently watered (but not waterlogged); check the soil pH to make sure it is not too acidic (below 5.5; optimum for growing, 6.0 to 6.5). Avoid too much nitrogen.
The weather can slow things down but have patience; the female flowers will follow the males eventually!
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It is possible to move a vegetable garden, but it is a huge undertaking (especially for larger gardens), and some plants may not survive. Success will depend in part on how large your plants are now, how long they will be in transit, and what the conditions are in their new space. If these plants are young, less than a foot tall, then it will be easier to pot them up. Keep in mind that some plants do not like to be transplanted, or are at a stage of development when it is hard for them to adjust, and may not fruit.
In the evening before you move (when it's cooler), water the area around the plant thoroughly, dig up the plant carefully, disturbing the roots as little as possible, and transplant it to a deep pot. Include as much of the root ball and soil as you can--the rootball width should at least be a few inches wider than the width of the plant; the wider, the better. And the deeper, the better.
Protect the plant from wind/sun/heat during transit. Plant it in the new location as soon as possible--next day is best (otherwise, keep it watered and shaded. Do not store in a moving van over days, as it can get very hot there).
Pick a protected new site in full sun. Be sure that the new soil has been prepared to receive the plants (loosened, weeded, rocks removed), and has good soil (well-aged compost worked in; do not add fertilizer or manure at this point, or it may burn the plant). If you are moving only a short distance away, it would be good to prepare the soil before moving day.
Plant in the evening, so that sun doesn't stress the plant for a while. Water the soil before planting and after. Provide temporary partial shade. After the plants recover from shock and establish, you can remove the device creating partial shade so that the plants can enjoy the full sun. Keep up with the special watering for about a week or so (but don't let the soil get soggy), then taper off to normal watering levels.
Good luck!