Overgrown, ginormous zucchini; what to do?
caroline94535
13 years ago
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Comments (18)
gemini40
13 years agoJasdip
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Pole beans surrounded by zucchini? Good idea? Bad idea?
Comments (13)the old adage, suck it an see, LOL! today I have contructed my wigwam in 1 square foot for 6 plants (worked well last year), a cabbage is stuck in the middle of the wigwam, theory being the shade from the beans may stop it from bolting, I grow my beans they are runner beans, not pole, (don't now if this makes a difference as I have never done pole beans, but would like an answer as I am doing another similar bed with pole bean in the centre) the bed then is basically 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 foot, tomato plant in each corner and east, west and south middle section cantaloupe south, facing, Zuke West facing, butternut on east side going to be trained down to the south, and chive on the mid north side, for ease the bed I have I have only divided into 9 even though I have planted 3 seeds, of each I am only using 2 of the cantaloupe and butternut and 1 of the zuke (I never wish to relive the Zucchini sickness again :-) should they look like it is to much for the bed I will go down to 1, of each, just for info these 3 sides are lawn, so will roam onto it, the north side is the path side, it will be interesting to see if I can get in to harvest the beans :-0, my other bed same theory, only using vegetable marrow (and no it isn't an overgrown Zuke, they get massive but taste lovely baked, or baked and stuffed, they have to get really massive to be bitter and look slightly different, although related, I looked it up and the flavor is described as bland! LOL! I am a true Brit :-)) another butternut and new this year spaghetti squash. I figure what have I got to lose, I can't do all these in the normal way, on my tiny plot, so if I have to haul out, so be it, I really won't have any this year if I don't try :-)...See MoreOvergrown/crowded
Comments (5)Remember that it's the roots, not just the foliage, that are crowded, and so thin (remove plants) rather than prune where you can. If they are still small, you may be able to move some plants (or give them to a neighbor) rather than tossing them on the compost heap. Insect problems can be a lot worse on plants that are weak because they are not getting enough sun or root room. Diseases and fungus can also come in if air circulation between or within plants is poor. An easy fix by the way is to stake those tomatoes! All tomato plants (well, maybe there are some exceptions) fall over and are low growers unless you hold them up or cage them. You can likewise trellis your cukes and squashes (and beans and peas). This will substitute "vertical space" for bed space. But you still need to give them plenty of root room! And it works best at the south end of the bed, where they won't shade other plants. Some people plant lettuces and other greens in the shade of a trellis during the hot weather  I haven't tried it....See MoreQuestion about Zucchini
Comments (16)Okay...so before the giant downpour today I pruned back some of the older leaves - the ones that have been around since DAY ONE (they were HUGE). I have to say that in doing so I noticed that my cukes, which are all wandering in this one bed, were getting yellowed leaves and the stems of the leaves were getting "yucky" for a lack of better words - mushy - and the initial cukes that were trying to form were also mushy. So...maybe it was too wet and no sun or ventilation? The flowers on the zucchini are opening, and are hanging out for a while, until the zukes get to about 4" in length (not thick though, maybe 1" in diameter or less) and then the flower gets mushy, sags, and then falls off. I do leave the zukes there for about 24-48 hours, and when the tip where the flower was starts to turn yellow, I clip them as that means they are going bad (mushy). I salvage as many of the little guys as I can - as a matter of fact just sauted a bunch of them with some onions and had them for dinner - so they are very tasty, just very small. I think I salvaged about 7 today...no flowers, starting to turn yellowish on the ends. So...I think I am waiting long enough to see if they keep developing...right? I have a couple of larger zukes out there, so I am now keeping an eye on them. I did not get to pollinating today because I was so busy cutting the overgrown leaves out. I have left many leaves, but the ones on the lower levels are removed so hopefully the ventilation will increase and maybe dry out a bit. I did see many worms - they always startle me, but I was really pleased to see them since these are new beds! - and many cukes coming up that are not mushy. :o) As for nitrogen...I did the beds as lasagna beds and am not adding chemicals. I did add UCGs, but could not do as much as I had wanted a few weeks ago because of the leaf issue! Now that I can get to them, I will add more - this should fix any nitrogen imbalance, correct? I also bury veggie cuttings and eggshells out of the kitchen periodically...I bury around the plants, not too close to disturb the roots. Now, again, since I can GET to the ground (haha) I will be able to do more of that around the zukes and cukes. Is there anything else you guys think I should be doing? DH plays guitar for them (well, he plays guitar outside on the deck and it's near the plants, so...there you go!), we water pretty regularly since the rain has been rare around here (except for this week!). Again, I did check while I was digging around the plants today and nothing was on the stems, under the leaves, or on the leaves....saw a lot of ants, though, but no weird looking bugs that could be sucking the life out of my cukes....See MoreIs the zucchini ready to be picked?
Comments (24)Well, kmigs26, you asked yesterday. Today they may be overgrown! LOL You do have to keep an eye on them or they'll get HUGE!! I've let a zuk go to town at the end of the season and it was about 3' long! Then I gave it to someone for zucchini races! ;) I like the 6-10", but if you miss one (they hide, you know!) you can use them in bread , zuk fritters, sliced and sandwiched with some cheese then breaded and fried, hollowed out a bit and stuffed with anything from a burger mixture such as meatloaf to a vege mixture ! The only way I have successfully frozen zuk is to grate it, squeeze it dry and freeze. You can use this for breads, hide it in stews and soups for the vege haters, muffins etc. There is a harvest forum that has tons of ways to prepare and preserve all sorts of food! Check it out! Happy gardening! Nancy...See Moreoldgardener_2009
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