While growing zucchini may not solve world hunger, it can certainly help!! These are some of the most productive vegetables you can grow, and they're super easy to start from seed!
May and June are the perfect time to direct sow seeds for zucchini, squash and pumpkins. One of the easiest to grow is the famous Black Beauty Zucchini – these productive plants are easy to grow, produce lots of nutritious fruits, and grow super fast – the harvest starts in just 55 days and keeps producing all season long! Zucchini are amongst the fastest growing vegetables, so they should be grown in every garden. You can plant seeds directly into garden soil mounds about 2-3 weeks after the last frost date.
Zucchini are also very versatile for cooking and baking – even the huge ones! Some people say the smaller zucchini taste better, but we think they taste great at any size. The bigger beasts are great for shredding and making fritters, pancakes or bread. The smaller zucchini are good for roasting or spiralizing to use as pasta. Not sure what to do with your abundance of zucchini or squash? Just Google it – there are millions of zucchini recipes on Google! Here's just a few ideas:
Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Fried Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms
Zucchini Fritters
Zucchini Pancakes
Zucchini Gratin
Baked Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
Zucchini Saute
Spaghetti with Zucchini
Simple Roasted Zucchini
Zucchini Bread (both sweet or savory!)
Zucchini Frittata
Curried Zucchini Soup
Zucchini Casserole
Grilled Zucchini Pizza Boats
Pickled Zucchini (they're like pickles!)
Zucchini Fries
Zucchini Jack-o-lanterns
Shall we go on... ? :) What are your favorite zucchini recipes?
You can grow zucchini in mounds in your garden, or grow them on a trellis. Whatever you do, make sure to grow them. Even if you think you're not a big zucchini fan, you'd be surprised at all how tasty they can be in many of the recipes listed above. Our favorite is the fritters, they are so crunchy and delicious and a great way to use up large zukes that were overlooked. Also, the zucchini plant's flowers are delicious when stuffed with cheese, beans, basil or other stuffings and fried in a cast iron skillet, they are a delicacy that just can't be beat.
Happy growing!
