Personally, I think zucchini is one of the easier summer vegetables to grow.
However, when I first tried growing it, I started without any prior knowledge and failed badly.Small fruits appeared after flowering, but they rotted before growing properly, so I could barely harvest anything.
The darker fruit below grew normally, while the one above with the blackened tip ended up rotting.
Later, I learned that zucchini requires pollination...
Hand Pollination in the Morning
Now, whenever a female flower blooms in the morning, I hand-pollinate it using pollen from a male flower.
Female flowers are easy to recognize because they already have a tiny fruit at the base.
Pollination itself is very simple — I just pick a male flower and apply the pollen directly.
Since there are not many flowers blooming at the same time, I do not find it troublesome at all.
As shown in the photo, simply touching the male flower directly to the female flower works fine.
Timing Problems When Growing Only One Plant
However, when growing only one zucchini plant, male and female flowers do not always bloom at the same time.
On the other hand, growing two or three plants can produce far too much zucchini.
During peak season, we end up eating zucchini almost every day, which is a bit much even for a family of four.
I Use Pumpkin Flowers for Pollination
Because of this, I also grow one pumpkin plant alongside the zucchini.
Zucchini and pumpkin are closely related plants, so cross-pollination works surprisingly well.
I have heard that the flavor may become weaker, but so far I have not noticed any real difference and they still taste good.
Zucchini Takes Up Quite a Lot of Space
Zucchini leaves spread out quite widely.
They take up more space than expected, so small gardens can feel crowded quickly.
On the other hand, if you can give them enough space, they grow very vigorously.
It Tastes Great Simmered with Tomatoes and Eggplants
I often cook harvested zucchini together with other summer vegetables such as tomatoes and eggplants.
It also goes very well with oil, making it great for stir-fried dishes, so I find it relatively easy to use up despite the large harvest.
Low-Maintenance Rating
(Example)
★☆☆☆☆ Needs frequent care
★★★★★ Almost carefree
Initial
★★★★☆
Basically, you just prepare the soil and plant it.
※ I may write about soil preparation another time.
Maintenance
★★★☆☆
I do very little pruning and mostly let the plants grow naturally.
My regular tasks are mostly:
- Watering
- Pollination
- removing a few dying leaves
That is about it.
However, since the flowers wilt within a day, I need to check them daily so I do not miss the pollination timing.
Harvest
★★★☆☆
I harvest them with scissors once they reach a reasonable size.
Even if I harvest them a little late, they mostly just become larger, so I do not worry too much about perfect timing.
However, the tiny hairs on the stems and leaves can surprisingly prick your skin, so I recommend using gloves.
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