The Secret to Success With Zucchini

, written by gb flag

Zucchini flower

The zucchini is one of the easiest vegetables for new gardeners to grow from seed - simple to care for, quick to grow, reliably prolific and endlessly useful in the kitchen.

Zucchini aren't difficult to grow, but it took me a while to get a really good crop, so it's worth taking time to ensure growing are conditions right. Believe me, it can be frustrating if every gardener you know is moaning about their zucchini glut when you've only managed to produce a few fruits late in the summer! Here are my tips to ensure a steady supply of zucchini.

Sowing Zucchini

Sow zucchini seeds on their side so that water easily drains off to avoid the risk of them rotting. Once germinated (which usually takes about a week, give or take a day or two), keep seedlings in a sunny position indoors until all risk of frost has passed, then harden them off to get them accustomed to outside conditions. Alternatively, sow them outside under cloches or horticultural fleece (row covers) if the weather is warm enough. Zucchini can't cope with cold temperatures, so don't start them off too early - check recommended sowing and planting out times for your location in our Garden Planner.

Zucchini seed

For zucchini to be highly productive they need plenty of fuel in the form of nutrients from the soil and sunlight to help them photosynthesize efficiently. It's best to plant them in a sunny part of the garden where they won't be overshadowed by other plants, in soil that has had garden-made compost or well-rotted manure added.

Personally I never seem to get as good a crop when growing in containers, although many people do grow zucchini (particularly compact varieties) successfully this way. I have to admit that I tend to neglect potted plants a bit! It is vital to keep on top of watering and feeding when growing in pots.

Keep cloches or fleece at the ready for cool nights. Water regularly if the soil is dry and mulch to minimize competition from weeds and to help retain soil moisture.

Male and Female Zucchini Flowers

When flowering starts, your zucchini plants will only produce male flowers at first. Why male flowers with no female flowers to pollinate? My theory is that this draws in insects such as bees who will return to the plants once the female flowers are produced, and this will enhance successful pollination.

Zucchini fruit with flower attached

You can make use of some of these male flowers by deep-frying them, though make sure you leave enough on the plant to ensure successful pollination. You'll know when your plants have started to produce female flowers, because female flowers have an immature zucchini fruit behind them, while the male flowers are produced on long, thin stalks with no such swelling.

Start feeding your plants with a liquid tomato feed or homemade comfrey fertilizer twice a month as soon as flowering begins, and continue to keep the soil well watered.

Zucchini Problems

One issue that is of significant concern is poor pollination. Zucchini need to be visited by a lot of bees or other pollinators for successful pollination, otherwise the fruits will abort. When this happens the fruits will stop growing, turn yellow and may start to rot. To avoid this make sure you include plenty of pollinator-friendly flowers in and around your vegetable garden, and avoid using any pesticides. Additionally, you can hand-pollinate the flowers - this may be necessary in wet summers when insect pollination is poor.

Aborted zucchini fruit

Stressed plants may also abort their fruits, so make sure you keep them well-watered and protect them with fleece or similar if the weather turns cold.

Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) affects zucchini as well as cucumbers, squash, pumpkins and some other non-related plants. Zucchini affected by CMV will show mottled, puckered leaves, and the fruits will be distorted and bitter-tasting. Aphids transmit the disease, so keep populations down by growing plenty of nectar-producing flowers that will attract aphid predators such as lacewings, lady bugs and hoverflies. You can also hose aphids off plants with a strong jet of water whenever you spot them.

Zucchini may also be affected by powdery mildew in hot, dry weather, which is fortunately simple to prevent by using a diluted milk spray.

Zucchini growing in the vegetable garden

Avoiding a Glut of Zucchini

The zucchini glut is well known not only to vegetable gardeners but to their families, friends, neighbors and casual acquaintances too! An over-abundance of vegetables is not a bad problem to have, but there are limits…

The trick to avoiding a glut of zucchini is to pick the fruits while they are still small - anything up to about 20cm (8in) - and to pick them regularly. Picking and eating some of the male flowers will also help to slow production.

Still, you're likely to have a steady supply of zucchini so it's a good thing they're so versatile. I like them best roasted along with other vegetables and added to pasta, but they can also be grilled, fried, baked, stuffed, grated into sauces as a thickener, sliced thinly into salads, or made into fritters or zucchini bread. Contrary to what some foodies say, you can freeze zucchini - they just go a bit soft, so if frozen are best used in dishes where the texture doesn't really matter, for example zucchini soup.

If you have any tips for growing a great crop of zucchini, or for using up a glut, we'd love to hear them - please share them in the comments below.

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Comments

 
"Glutney!!! Hugh fearnley Whitingstall has a great and versatile chutney recipe you can use with just about any 'glut' of veg (hence Glutney). I make loads of it every year with my abundance of courgettes! http://www.vegetarianrecipesmag.com/vegetarian-recipes/hugh-fearnley-whittingstalls-glutney "
Colin on Friday 15 May 2015
"I love using the overgrown fruits to make a sweet pickle relish. The huge fruits retain their crunch after processing and taste even better than cucumber pickles."
Kathryn on Friday 15 May 2015
"That sounds good, Kathryn - do you have a recipe you can share?"
Colin on Friday 15 May 2015
"I make zucchini relish, my hubby loves it, and I also shred it, freeze to use in zucchini bread. The relish recipe is a ball canning recipe from the canning book. "
Vera on Friday 15 May 2015
"Hi Colin, the recipe I use is actually a recipe for Bread and Butter pickles, with the following adjustments: replace cucumbers with overgrown zucchini. Peel, if the skin is very tough, then grate using the large holes on the grater. Dice the onions and peppers. Mix the vegetables with salt and le sit in a large bowl for three hours. Drain and rinse. Make the brine as instructed in the recipe, but add a half teaspoon of nutmeg. Mix in vegetables, bring to a boil, ladle into jars, and process as the recipe calls for. Stir often while heating the relish to be sure the mixture is evenly hot. Any bread and butter pickle recipe will work."
Kathryn on Friday 15 May 2015
"Some great ideas! Keep them coming :)"
Ann Marie Hendry on Friday 15 May 2015
"Friends of mine take all the zucchini they can get, grate it, and put it in the freezer for zucchini bread all year long. I don't really like to eat zucchini as a vegetable (overdid it one year...), but I love it in breads and fritters, so I think I'll actually plant some this year."
Shari on Saturday 16 May 2015
"Just bought 2 plants and have recently acquired bees so hoping for great things. Going to plant in the well rotted stable dung heap! !!!"
lindsay on Saturday 16 May 2015
"Zucchini salsa is awesome and uses an abundance of the zucchini. My kids even like it better than store bought salsa. "
Kk on Saturday 16 May 2015
"You didn't say anything about the vine bore bug, they kill my plants Every year."
Tony on Saturday 16 May 2015
"They are a delicious base for my green juice. After juicing them, they are frozen into ice cube trays and stored in bulk in ziplock freezer bags to be taken out when I make my daily juice."
Sherrie MT on Saturday 16 May 2015
"Exactly what Tony said!! Squash bugs decimate mine every time I plant them! Supposedly you are to hand pick them, but who can catch them???"
Bunny Ryan on Saturday 16 May 2015
"Everyone is saying they're easy to grew, but as newbies, we're struggling. We skipped the first step, and bought two seedlings - we planted them and they've grown a little (in a month or so) but one has now died - it went limp and then brown and damp - is that over watering? How can we prevent the other one from dying? They're in a raised bed, under a green mesh cloche which still allows plenty of sunlight through. Please help! "
Tim on Saturday 16 May 2015
"One word: cake. I now want a glut so I can justify making this: http://iambaker.net/blueberry-zucchini-cake-with-lemon-buttercream/ Can I count this as 2 of my five a day?! "
Vanessa on Saturday 16 May 2015
"courgette soup, courgettes with pasta"
diverte on Saturday 16 May 2015
"Lovee growing zucchini. No garden this year due to poor balance at my age. Will certainly purchase from Farmer's Market in Salem, Va. I think I will plant in a large pot then pull out the weaker looking plants and leave one to grow. It probably won't work but I would like to try."
Carol McMillion on Saturday 16 May 2015
"My problem is squash vine borers. Does anyone have an organic control method?"
Bonnie on Saturday 16 May 2015
"I made cheese from courgettes last year! Really easy....and of course, chocolate courgette cake....yummy!"
emma on Saturday 16 May 2015
"http://gutsybynature.com/2014/07/19/zucchini-cheese-dairy-free-nut-free/.......the cheese made from courgettes recipe!"
emma on Saturday 16 May 2015
"Lots of excellent suggestions - we've obviously got some real courgette/zucchini lovers here! Tony, Bunny and Bonnie, I haven't experienced the perils of squash vine borers personally as it's fortunately not something we experience here in the UK (yet!), but our zucchini Grow Guide for the US (which can be found here: http://www.growveg.com/growguideplant.aspx?id=197) recommends excluding them using row covers."
Ann Marie Hendry on Saturday 16 May 2015
"Tim, you don't say where in the world you are, but if the nights are still cold where you are (they're certainly still cold with me in Scotland!) this might be the reason your plant died - courgettes don't tolerant cold temperatures. If you can supplement your mesh cover with horticultural/garden fleece or with plastic or similar overnight this might be enough to save the remaining seedling."
Ann Marie Hendry on Saturday 16 May 2015
"I have read that sprinkling borax powder at the base on the plants will discourage the squash bugs, but I haven't tried it myself. "
Kathryn on Saturday 16 May 2015
"I have a good way to use up courgettes which have grown too large. Cut away the skin and seeds, then cut the flesh into small chunks. I then place them in a pan, add olive oil, chilli, garlic, curry powder or Garam Masala, cumin, turmeric etc and slowly cook the courgette down into a thick, spicy paste. You can then spoon it into sterilized jars, cover with olive oil and use as a spicy paste on toast etc whenever you fancy a spicy snack. Vary the amount of chilli to your taste. Courgette is a blank canvas for getting creative."
Gareth Bowes on Saturday 16 May 2015
"We shred our extra zucchini and summer squash and freeze it in plastic freezer bags. We use it to make zucchini bread and muffins all winter long!"
Dawn on Sunday 17 May 2015
"i have a question about row covers. i will be planting zucchini 4rh time this year. they grow lush green, start blooming and then one morning i come to water and they've been eaten by bugs (i'm in usa, southwest florida). i just read your article and ordered row covers. so the question is: how will they get pollinated when covered? if bugs can't get in, neither can bees. and if i keep them uncovered for some time how do i keep bugs off them? i am a stubborn gardener. in 7 years i got no zucchini. now i have 6 meter high eggplants (fertilized, watered, pampered and sung lullibies to) which have sat in ground for 8 months and produced ONE eggplant. never give up is all that keeps me going"
olga on Sunday 17 May 2015
"Hi Anne Marie, sorry - I'm in Liverpool (UK). The weather has been fine - which does mean that nights may be too cold with the reduced cloud cover. I'll try putting some fleece over it at night for the next couple of weeks and see how it fairs!"
Tim in Liverpool on Monday 18 May 2015
"Hi Olga, try hand-pollinating your zucchini, as described in the 'Understanding Squash Sex' section of Barbara's article Mixing Up Summer Squash, which can be found here: http://www.growveg.com/growblogpost.aspx?id=137. Tim, the nights are probably still too cold for your courgettes to be outside without protection - I'm a bit further north than you, but I'm still seeing temperatures as low as 1 Celsius at night inside my greenhouse! Despite that, I've got courgettes in there covered with a single layer of fleece overnight and they're doing fine."
Ann Marie Hendry on Tuesday 19 May 2015
"Zucchini Slaw! Just substitute for the cabbage in your favorite recipe."
Kathy on Tuesday 19 May 2015
"Thank you for your help Ann Marie!"
Tim in Liverpool on Tuesday 19 May 2015
"i will try to hand pollinate, as of now, do i put seeds in the grownd, cover with fabric and wait until they bloom? do i water over fabric or under it?"
olga on Tuesday 19 May 2015
"Hi Olga, depending if it's warm where you are you can start them outside in the ground, or if nights are still cold then cover them with fabric or start them indoors.. If you're using garden fleece fabric you will normally need to lift it to water, however many types of mesh/netting can be watered through. Kathy - I hadn't heard of zucchini slaw, but I like the sound of it! I will definitely try that this summer."
Ann Marie Hendry on Wednesday 20 May 2015
"To get around the pollinating issue, I've gone with a hybrid from Burpee called Sure Thing the last few years. http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/squash/summer/zucchini/squash-summer-sure-thing-zucchini-hybrid-prod000924.html "
Don Abbott on Friday 22 May 2015
"I grate those that got past best eating size, freeze it, and use it in chili or soup."
L in Ohio on Sunday 31 May 2015
"I grow a round courgette called piccolo. At first I was annoyed that I couldn't cut it little round slices, but then I found they were ideal for stuffing. Unlike full size marrows they are perfect for one or two. I prefer them Chinese style; pork mince with a little chopped ginger and spring onion, a soaked dry mushroom (chopped), a little cornflour and egg to bind the meat, and seasoned with salt, pepper and a few drops of sesame oil. Slice a lid off the top of the courgette, scoop out the seeds and stuff the raw mixture into the hollow you have just created. Then (and here is the really unusual bit)- steam it for about 30 minutes. I've used other flavouring and different meat, but this is my favourite. They are dead easy to do, and the little striped globes look charming on a plate."
Deb Clarke on Tuesday 2 June 2015
"ZOODLES!! Look up zoodles online.. try Pinterest!! Tons of recipes!! Zoodles are simply zucchini that have been 'spiralized' --- made into noodles!! I found a dandy little spiralizer at Ross Store for $9.99. More expensive ones are available online. My first try was sooo tasty that I couldn't stop eating what was probably enough for 4 servings!! I spiralized the 2 large (8") zucchinis. Looked at them in the bowl... got creative and splashed on some garlic flavored rice vinegar, olive oil, grated ginger, minced garlic, sesame seeds, and peanuts. Put that in fridge to marinate. Just over an hr later, I ate the WHOLE BOWLFUL!! It was raw... didn't have to cook it!! yum.. yum... yum!! The spiralized zucchini can be used like pasta noodles.. add whatever sauce of your choosing, with or without meat. Just do not overcook the zoodles, or you'll have mush!! To cook the zoodles for a hot dish, I either saute them a bit in olive oil, or nuke them... and then add all the other ingredients!! ENJOY!!"
Carol McCollum on Sunday 29 May 2016
"The organic trick for borers (and cucumber beetles) is to succession plant. Put in a new crop every two or three weeks. Large seeded vegetables resent transplanting. It is important not to disturb roots with squashes ans melons. A transplanting fertilizer will help with recovery."
David Miller on Tuesday 15 November 2016
"I have a comment for Olga, or anyone interested. I have had to hand pollinate my zucchini as there aren't any bees, at least they haven't found where I have my zucchini. It is easy to do, you just have to be gently when peeling back the petals of the male plant. When you are pollinating the female plant it is called 'tickling' I learned how to do this on YouTube. Also, it is best to water zucchini plants near the base, if you get the leaves wet there is danger of them getting moldy. Just sharing my experience! I hope this is of help."
Anna on Saturday 7 October 2017
"I sprinkle corn starch as soon as I see any beetles or bugs on zucchini ,pickle,pumpkins or any plants.It is best thing I ever used.I plant 30 zuccine.80tomatoes. 12 pumpkins,bunch of pickles and using corn starch I never have a problem with beetles or any bugs,"
Ken on Thursday 29 March 2018
"Mine die of powdery mildew year after year. Milk spray does not work. Mancozeb delays the death until I get a couple of fruits. Then the plant still dies. My next plan is to take off lots of the leaves for better airflow. I hope that will work. "
Linda Heenan on Monday 14 May 2018
"Linda, milk sprays should be used preventatively, so if you're leaving it until you see powdery mildew on the leaves this will be too late. Cutting off any affected leaves should help slow the spread of the diseases. Make sure not too grow plants too close together. You can remove some leaves to help improve airflow further, but don't remove too many as they need the leaves to photosynthesise."
Ann Marie Hendry on Tuesday 15 May 2018
"I've canned bread and butter pickle chips using zucchini instead of cucumbers. Nobody ever suspected a thing! "
Tamara Rickey on Friday 8 June 2018
"I had never grown zucchini until I moved to Texas 4 years ago. Yes, I am kicking myself in the butt. This is the easiest I have ever had in gardening. I started with 4 plants, and now grow 15-20. I get a lot of zucchini, and I love it. I'm from the northeast, so we never had it growing up. First picking is mine. Then I give some to my daughter, with her family of 5, and feed many of my neighbors through out the growing season. I also bring zucchini, cucumbers, and green beans to the food bank. I love working in the garden, and it makes me feel good that I can give back. If you ever have more than you need, donate to the food bank. There are people out there who need it. And most are very greatful."
Donna Groleau on Sunday 24 June 2018
"My zucchini plants are very healthy and growing like crazy, but won’t produce any flowers and therefore no fruit. Why?"
Sally on Friday 29 June 2018
"Hi Sally. They are hungry plants, so they need good, fertile soil. If your soil wasn't amended with rich organic matter such as compost before planting, you can mulch around them with compost or sprinkle a balanced organic fertiliser to give them a boost. Alternatively, you may just need to wait a little while longer! Depending on when you planted them and where you are in the world, they might not be ready to produce fruits just yet. "
Ann Marie Hendry on Friday 6 July 2018
"For a glut ( I self impose a glut by actually deigning to plant two of these things) grate them and freeze dry them. They can be stored thus until the zombie apocalypse."
Mark on Monday 30 July 2018
"Thanks for the response. It turns out I was just too eager. They now bear lots of flowers and fruit t!"
Sally on Monday 30 July 2018
"Great tip Mark. Hopefully the zombie apocalypse is still some way off, but if it comes to that at least you'll have a good supply of food (and probably the tools to dispatch any zombies in your garden shed...I knew I was keeping that old hand scythe for something!). "
Ann Marie Hendry on Wednesday 1 August 2018
"Glad to hear that things are finally working out Sally!"
Ann Marie Hendry on Wednesday 1 August 2018
"Hi fellow gardeners. I have an interesting problem starting with my Zucchini plants. So I have fruit on the plant with female flowers about to open, but the male flower buds aren’t ready to open. Anyone seen this before or have any tips on what causes this and how to prevent it next time?"
Brenton Holmes on Friday 14 September 2018
"We can't get enough zucchini! Along with boiling, frying, grating for z. pancakes, z. cake and breads, adding to spaghetti sauce, we found this surprising recipe: Mock Apple Pie, or Crisp! Just peel and cut up zucchini into apple-like slices and add sugar and cinnamon, put in quart canning jars, process in pressure canner, and use as you would in making an apple pie or crisp. It had my son fooled and he loved it! There are also numerous casseroles you can make with zucchini and tomatos and cheese - yummy! I'd get the zucchini cookbook if you can, on ebay. Besides all this, we sell zucchinis at a farmer's market and give to friends. Enjoy! "
Mary Merritt on Tuesday 26 February 2019
"I'd never have thought of making a mock apple pie with it! I must try that this summer. Thanks for the suggestion! "
Ann Marie Hendry on Friday 1 March 2019
"Hi! Do I need to manually open the female flower or should I wait till it opens on it's own please? I found several fruits but their flower is closed, I saw only one open (and I hand pollinated it early in the morning)."
Vanessa Méril-Mamert on Monday 4 May 2020
"No need to hurry things along Vanessa, they'll open soon! The flowers are very delicate and easily ripped so are best left to open themselves. They'll open when the time is right."
Ann Marie Hendry on Wednesday 6 May 2020
"I'm growing one zucchini, in a (large) container. It grew a bunch of male flowers down at the base of the stem, then started growing females a little higher up; the first few didn't get pollinated, so I did some hand-pollinating. The instructions I found used up a male flower for each pollination (pull off the petals and rub the stamen into the female flowers). I got a few zucchini, very nice. Now I have lots of female flowers, but not a single male flower or bud. They all died or I killed them. Is there anything I can do to encourage the plant to produce more males? If there's other zucchini (or squash of any sort) around, I don't know where it is and the bees etc don't seem to have found my balcony garden - and I have neither the space nor time to grow another plant to provide the male flowers. Help?"
jjmcgaffey on Thursday 18 June 2020
"Occasionally they do produce only male or female flowers for a while - that's part of the reason it's a good idea to grow at least two plants if at all possible. You may just have to be patient until it decides to pop out some more male flowers, but you could try giving it a balanced organic feed such as liquid seaweed, or mulching the top of the pot with compost or all-purpose potting mix to make sure it has the nutrients it needs for healthy all-round growth. The plant should keep producing more flowers of both sexes all summer long, assuming it's kept fed and watered enough. "
Ann Marie Hendry on Friday 19 June 2020
"Chocolate-chocolate zucchini bread. Or any other kind of zucchini bread. Also, zucchini goes well in meatloaf and meatballs. We sneak it into lots of things the kids will eat!"
Julia on Friday 31 July 2020
"Chocolate zucchini bread sounds good - I will have to give that one a try!"
Ann Marie Hendry on Wednesday 5 August 2020
"I just want to say thank you because so many sites talk about how to fertilize zucchini but not how often! "
madi on Tuesday 11 August 2020
"I've got only one seedling - will I still get zucchini?"
Lin on Wednesday 30 September 2020
"Quite possibly Lin, but growing at least two plants will give you much better success."
Ann Marie Hendry on Friday 2 October 2020
"I’ve read through the comments and found several references to vine borers killing off plants. I’ve been growing an organic garden for 8-9 years now and found that diatomaceous earth puffed all over and around plants seems to help. My issue is slugs. The diatomaceous earth keeps them away. I’m on Long Island for reference. Growing season is short here so I don’t plant outdoors until after Mother’s Day. Most seasons I get an over abundance of cucumbers and zucchini…not a complaint, just a fact!"
Jackie on Saturday 3 July 2021
"Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas within this article. Last year I had a period about midseason where none of my four courgette plants, two in the greenhouse and two outside, were producing male flowers so the fruits were aborting. However, we still had a glut so I made Spiced Courgette Chutney. It was delicious! Great with quiche, Spanish omelette, curries and hard strong cheeses for example. You can find the recipe on the BBC Good Food site. Spiced Courgette Chutney By nscottmusic (GoodFood Community) Preparation and cooking time Prep:30 mins Cook:2 hrs More effort Makes 1kg Make it more spicy if you want by adding extra ginger or a small amount of chilli powder. Ingredients: 2 onions, chopped 500g tomatoes, chopped 500g courgettes, diced 300ml white wine vinegar 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced 250g brown sugar 2 tsp mixed spice 1 tbsp mustard seeds thumb-sized piece root ginger grated 4 garlic clove, crushed Method STEP 1 Put all the ingredients in a large pan. Bring slowly to a simmer, stirring to stop the mixture sticking. STEP 2 Simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours until dark, thick and chutney-like. STEP 3 Pour into sterilised jars and leave for 2-3 weeks before eating. This one is really nice;"
Mike Mayfield on Saturday 12 March 2022
"I find its essential to keep the PH below 7. They just rot if i don't"
Ron on Saturday 19 March 2022
"HI, hoping someone has some advice. I am from the Uk but living in Spain, I have courgettes, melons, cucumbers and squash all with the same issue,, one or two fruit then nothing. The leaves started going yellow and I read it was overwatering, however if I dont water as much as I was they wilt really quickly in the heat. They are in full sun, we are averaging 34 degrees in the day, and we have a good breeze. I feed once a week. Any suggestions? thanks all"
Josh Jones on Sunday 31 July 2022
"Hi Josh. My guess would be that the heat is just too much for them. Can you set up a little shading for them at all? Netting works well for providing filtered sunlight. That might help, or you might just have to wait until temperatures cool down to something a bit more bearable!"
Ann Marie Hendry on Saturday 6 August 2022
"Zoodles!! Zuchinni noodles for spaghetti are my absolute favorite!!"
cj on Monday 22 April 2024

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