Zucchini / Summer squash
Vegetable · warm season · also called courgette, yellow squash, crookneck
When to plant
- Sow seeds outdoors about 2 weeks after your average last spring frost.
- Ready to harvest about 50 days after planting.
Harvest at 6–8 in. Watch for squash vine borers.
Frost dates depend on where you live. Enter your ZIP code to get exact dates.
Dates by zone: 3a 3b 4a 4b 5a 5b 6a 6b 7a 7b 8a 8b 9a 9b 10a 10b
Growing basics
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours)
- Spacing
- 24–36 in
- Soil temperature
- At least 65°F
- Time to harvest
- About 50 days
- Containers
- At least 7 gallons
- Plant family
- Squash family (cucurbits)
- Harvest per plant
- About 8 lb
- Seeds keep
- About 4 years
Companions
Good neighbors: Nasturtium, Borage, Green beans (bush), Dill
Keep apart: Potato. Potatoes and squash-family crops compete for water and share pests.
Keep apart: Horseradish. Horseradish spreads aggressively. Give it its own spot.
Keep apart: Mint. Mint spreads aggressively into neighbors. Keep it in a pot.
Keep apart: Fennel (bulb). Fennel slows the growth of most garden plants. Grow it on its own.
Keep apart: Sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke). Sunchokes spread aggressively and shade neighbors.
Varieties to try
- Black Beauty 50 days: classic dark green zucchini
- Yellow Crookneck 50 days: yellow summer squash
- Cocozelle 55 days: striped Italian heirloom
- Costata Romanesco 60 days: ribbed, nutty flavor
Pests and problems
Grow it well
Tips
- Pick zucchini small. Zucchini are best at 6 to 8 inches long: tender, with small seeds. They can grow that much in a day or two, so check often.
- Hand-pollinate squash if the fruit shrivels. Baby squash that turn yellow and rot weren't pollinated. In the morning, pick a male flower (on a plain stem, with no tiny squash behind it), peel back its petals, and dab its center into a female flower.
- Scrape off squash bug eggs. Every few days, check under squash and pumpkin leaves for clusters of shiny bronze eggs, and crush them or lift them off with a piece of tape. Catching them before they hatch saves a lot of trouble.
All 10 tips for zucchini / Summer squash →
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