Vegetable / Warm season
Zucchini
Also called courgette
One plant feeds the street, until the borers find it
Plant out byJun 1zone 6
- Family
- Gourd (Cucurbitaceae)
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ h)
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Days to harvest
- 55-60 days
- Spacing
- 30 in apart, rows 36 in
- Pot size
- 5 gal pot (fine in pots)
- Frost
- Tender
- Start
- Either
- Water
When to plant
Showing .
Averages for a typical garden in the region. Your local frost dates may differ by 2-3 weeks, check a local source.Too late this year (try fall)
In zone 6, start seeds indoors Mar 23 to Apr 6; plant out Apr 27 to Jun 1. Average last frost Apr 20, first fall frost Oct 20.
Units
Plant zucchini in a 4×8 bed and it will claim about a quarter of it by July. The leaves get as wide as dinner plates, and the stems lean over anything nearby, including the hose reel. Two to three feet between plants is not a suggestion.
Then there is the squash vine borer. A moth that looks like a wasp lays eggs at the base of the stem, and the larvae tunnel inside. One hot afternoon the whole plant wilts and does not come back. Look for small holes near the soil line with a sawdust-like mess around them. Row cover early in the season, or foil wrapped around the lower stem, are the usual defenses. Once the grub is inside, sprays do little. Planting an extra plant or two is honest insurance.
Zucchini is warm season and tender, so sow seed after your last frost once the soil reaches about 65 degrees F. It sprouts quickly and gives fruit around two months later. Pick at 6 to 8 inches. Bigger ones get tough and slow the plant down. In a pot, choose a compact variety and give it at least 5 gallons, though a larger tub makes summer watering easier. Kids tend to love this one, since the seeds are big and the plant seems to grow while you watch. One healthy plant often keeps a small family in zucchini bread for weeks.
Things to consider
- Early flowers are mostly male, so the first week of blooms may give nothing at all. Cool or rainy spells slow fruit set as well. It sorts itself out once female flowers show up.
- Squash bugs lay bronze egg clusters on the undersides of leaves. Scraping them off twice a week is dull work, and it beats trying to spray adults later. Drop the adults into a jar of soapy water, or trap them under a board overnight.
- A missed zucchini turns into a baseball bat in a few days. During peak season, a daily walk past the plant is the difference between tender fruit and a compost problem. Giant ones also slow new fruit.
Good neighbours
Keep apart
Pests to watch for
Squash vine borersSquash bugsCucumber beetles
Questions about growing zucchini
How do I hand-pollinate zucchini?
Pick a male flower in the morning and pull off its petals. Brush the pollen onto the center of a female flower, the one with a small zucchini behind it. A cotton swab or small paintbrush works too. It takes about a minute per flower and is a good job for a curious kid.
Is it worth starting zucchini indoors?
You can, about 2 to 4 weeks before your last frost, in pots you plant whole so the roots are not disturbed. Direct sowing into warm soil is nearly as quick for most people. The seedlings also skip transplant shock that way, and you save the windowsill for slower crops.
What is the white powder on my zucchini leaves?
That is powdery mildew, which shows up late in the season, mostly on crowded plants watered from above. Remove the worst leaves and give the rest more air. Some gardeners spray a mix of 1 part milk to 2 parts water every two weeks as a preventive. Late in summer, many growers just let the old plant go.
Save this crop
Pin it to a garden board so it is there when planting time comes round.
Similar crops
Sources
General guidance for home gardens. Frost dates are averages for a zone or region; check a local source (in the US your county extension office) for local timing.