You probably think you already know how to grow a zucchini plant but if you live in North America ... you might not. Here's a way of growing zucchini to make your plants live longer, take up less space and produce more.
Zucchini is touted as one of the easiest and most prolific vegetables you can grow in a home garden. And that's mainly true. This growing guide will fill in every blank and answer most of the questions you've ever had about zucchini.
Planting zucchini can be done by any fool. You stick a seed in the ground, go inside to watch television for a few weeks, come back outside and BOOM you have a zucchini plant.
But there are a few things about growing zucchini that you probably don't know. Even I, who has a 40' x 40' vegetable garden, who is a contributing writer for The Old Farmer's Almanac didn't start using this technique until a few (maybe a decade actually) years ago.
1. Zucchini need to be pruned and staked. For real. Like you prune a tomato.
2. Zucchini can be planted VERY close together. 1 per square foot but remember to make sure your soil is amended for that. (lots of compost or some organic fertilizer)
3. Powdery Mildew CAN be halted.
The most interesting fact about zucchini is they can do complex math equations.
No they can't. We're very alike zucchini and I.
If you're looking for a really rewarding challenge that's a little more mysterious than zucchini take a look at my expert tips on how YOU can grow luffa sponges at home.
Table of Contents
Growing zucchini
- Zucchini are a summer squash so these tips and techniques can be applied to any other summer squash like yellow, crookneck or patty pan.
- Seeds or seedlings can be planted into warm soil at the start of summer (typically the end of May).
- Zucchini fruit develop around 50 days after planting. Once the fruit form, zucchini grow very quickly - especially if it's hot out and they get plenty of water.
- Zucchini don't need a lot of soil amendments. Add 2-3 inches of mature compost on top of your planting site and you'll be rewarded with enough zucchini to fill a clown car.
When to plant Zucchini
- Zucchini are heat loving plants so wait until your soil temperature is above 65℉ (18ºC) to plant out seeds or seedlings.
- You can plant 2 weeks earlier if you lay plastic mulch on your planting area which will increase the temperature of the soil below by 10 degrees. Garden centres sell black plastic mulch, which is often biodegradable but any black or clear plastic will work. Get biodegradable black mulch here.
- Planting 2 weeks earlier also means you will be harvesting 2 weeks earlier!
- If you're starting seeds indoors, plant them 3 weeks before your last frost date.*
Because zucchini grow so quickly and don't always transplant well there's really no need to start them inside. They usually do better when direct sown under plastic mulch. Just cut an X into the thermal plastic and push the seed down into the soil through it.
Where to plant
- Zucchini needs to be planted in an area that gets 6-8 hours of sun per day.
- Plant near companion plants like beans and peas (which fix nitrogen into the soil).
- Surround zucchini with pollinating flowers like borage, catmint, dill or dahlias to attract pollinators to that area of the garden. (zucchini need pollinators to hop from their male to their female flowers in order to produce fruit)
How to plant zucchini
Supplies
- Zucchini seeds or seedlings
- Large pot or 1' square of soil
- Water
Instructions
STEP 1 - Make sure your garden is weed free and rake it smooth.
STEP 2 - Apply a 2-3" layer of compost on top of the soil and rake smooth. If you're laying down plastic mulch to speed up your planting and harvest date, now is the time to do it.
STEP 3 - When the soil registers 65℉, plant seeds to a depth of 1" which is about the distance from the tip of your index finger to your first knuckle. For seedlings, plant them so the soil line of the seedling matches the soil line of the garden. Then push the seedling down a little to firm it and add more soil to fill the space if needed.
STEP 3 - Cover the seed with soil and water well. Make sure the soil doesn't dry out at all until you see the seeds sprout.
STEP 4 - Maintain moisture for the rest of the summer with at least 1" of water a week. Zucchini LOVES water. And don't worry about getting water on the leaves. Water doesn't exacerbate or cause powdery mildew. In fact, water helps wash it off of the plant. Powdery mildew is triggered by dry conditions - not wet.
THESE are the two tricks to growing zucchini better than anyone else: staking & pruning.
How to stake zucchini
Growing zucchini vertically might not be your first thought but it's exactly what you should do.
North American gardeners haven't really adopted this technique yet but it's common in Europe.
STAKING
- Drive a 4-5' stake into the ground before planting, so you don't damage the roots. I use lightweight coated metal stakes.
- Plant your seed or seedling right next to the stake so as it grows you can tie the stem to the stake.
You may not have noticed it before, but a zucchini plant only has one stem. That stem is just usually sprawled and dirty on the ground covered in decaying leaves. So you can't get a good look at it.
But trust me. Zucchini have one stem, that can be staked just like a tomato.
The earlier you do it the easier it is though.
Above you can see a zucchini plant that's only been staked and tied once, earlier in the season with the rest of the growth just flopped over. The leaves are being eaten by bugs, there's no air circulation and the lower leaves near the soil are getting powdery mildew.
Here's the same zucchini plant after staking it properly and removing all the lower leaves.
Just like tomatoes, zucchini benefit hugely from pruning. They'll be susceptible to less disease, have a more open formation that allows easier access for bees to pollinate and they'll take up less space.
How to prune zucchini
Why prune?
- The developing zucchini gain all their energy from ONLY the leaves growing above them. The leaves below, are just taking energy away from the rest of the plant.
- Pruning away diseased and damaged leaves helps prevent and slow powdery mildew by creating greater air circulation.
- Pruning away the larger, lower leaves that aren't contributing to the plant means you can plant more zucchini in a smaller space.
- The flowers are easier for bees and butterflies to access.
PRUNING
- Locate the lowest growing zucchini on the plant.
- Cut off all of the leaves growing from the stem below that zucchini. Cut right close to the stem.
- As the plant grows continue cutting off any leaves that are below the lowest growing fruit.
Fun Fact
Zucchini leaf stems are hollow UNTIL they get to the stem of the plant. There they turn solid again. Prune your zucchini leaves right up to the stem of the plant so you don't have any of the hollow stem left.
- Hollow stem portions can harbour disease and bugs so make sure you get right close to the plant stem when removing the leaves.
Pre staking & pruning
Post staking & pruning
See the difference from the left photograph and the right one?
Spacing Zucchini
Plant zucchini 1' apart. Rows should be spaced at 1.5' apart.
A lot of guides tell you to place zucchini plants at least 24" apart. You don't need that much room between them.
If you're staking & pruning them this is all the room they need.
Unpruned zucchini
Pruned zucchini
SOME MORE GOOD VEGETABLE TIPS FOR YOU
SAVE Your Zucchini and Squash from Squash Vine Borer
My Leek Growing Technique - Based on Eliot Coleman's
Make Paper Pots with a Wine Bottle
Make a Soil Grader for Levelling Your Garden from a Wood Pallet.
Disease
Powdery Mildew
- It's the kiss of death for zucchini plants, but luckily it's a long, slow, torturous death.
- Most zucchini plants seem to be able to withstand powdery mildew for quite a long time - months even.
- To help prevent powdery mildew, stake and prune your zucchini like I've shown you.
- If you notice powdery mildew has made its way onto your plants you can spray with this homemade Powdery Mildew spray for zucchini. It's just vinegar and water but it works.
Pests
The number 1 killer of zucchini plants are squash vine borers. These maggoty stem eating bits of grossness can kill a plant before you even realize it's sick.
Squash vine borers bore their way into the stem of the zucchini along the soil line and then proceed to eat the entire plant from the inside out.
There's usually only one vine borer per stem, so all you have to do is check your stems for signs of it at the end of June and into the summer.
I have a whole post on how to remove squash vine borers from your zucchini, winter squash, pumpkins and other gourds.
How to Grow Zucchini Plants
How to grow zucchini plants the right way! And I bet it's different than how you're doing it now.
Materials
- 4-6' long stakes
- twine
Tools
- scissors or knife
Instructions
Plant your zucchini 1.5" apart. They aren't going to need all kinds of room to grow and sprawl anymore because you're growing them UP.
Plant a stake right next to the main stem of the zucchini plant.
Using string or twine tie the plant's stem to the stake so it grows upright.
Remove all those huge leaves that are growing at the base of the plant (only the leaves below any developing fruit)
Monitor the plant once a week to see if you need to tie it to the stem again as it grows.
Notes
Zucchini should be grown basically like tomatoes! Stake them and remove older leaves that aren't doing anything productive for the plant other than making it vulnerable to disease.
Staking is easiest if you do it when the plant is first put in the ground, but you can wrangle an older plant into submission as well.
Cut your leaves off as close to the stem of the plant as you can.
If you see signs of powdery mildew developing you can wash the plant. Yes. Wash it with water. Powdery mildew HATES water and thrives in dry, hot conditions.
Powdery Mildew can also be controlled (not cured) with this simple spray recipe:
4 cups of water + ½ Tablespoon of Vinegar.
Spray the top and bottom of the leaves once a week.
Zucchini can be picked at any time. All sizes are edible. Yes. Even the big ones. Larger zucchini will need their seeds removed.
Absolutely. Zucchini are perfect for pots, especially if you use this staking and pruning method to control their size.
Zucchini season runs from June to August. The plant begins to produce fruit around 50 days after planting. To extend your season, plant first at the end of May and then again at the end of June. This way if you lose plants to disease or pests, you'll have another crop on the way.
If your zucchini grow to about the size of your pinkie finger, and then rot and fall off you have a pollination problem.
This is caused by the female flower (which has the fruit) not being pollinated by the male flower. You either need to attract more pollinating insects to your garden OR I can show you how to hand pollinate.
Apply what you've learned here and you'll have your biggest zucchini crop ever.
You might be wondering why would you want them to produce even more? Zucchini are already insanely productive. Well, because of the obvious. They’re fun to throw through people’s open car windows during zucchini season.
Zucchini may not be able to do complex mathematical equations but they can add up like nobody's business.
→Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
April
So when staking, I am assuming you use bamboo stakes? Also do you tie it all the way up as it grows?
Karen
Hi April. I use whatever stakes I have around. Sometimes bamboo, sometimes metal stakes, sometimes wood ... And yes you have to continue to tie them to the stake as they grow. :) ~ karen!
C. Piper
What about other kinds of squash...the soft yellow and other summer squashes, but also how about the non-hollow stem squashes like the Persian and butternut types...same advice about removing lower leaves etc?
Karen
Hi C.! This technique is specifically for zucchini or other summer squash, not for hard winter squash. Hard winter squash can also be pruned but you don't do that until late summer when the fruit have set and started to grow. It's a whole different technique. :) ~ karen!
Carol
Can I plant the zucchini in a large pot instead of the ground and stake it? Neighbors tree takes most of my sun now so a large container for zucchini would be my only option. Thanks !
Karen
Yup. Just make sure it's quite a big pot (50 litres or so) and that you have either new potting soil that has nutrients in it, or add fertilizer/compost to the pot. Good luck! ~ karen
Dani
Can you do this with yellow squash?
Karen
Hi Dani. It depends on what you mean by yellow squash. If you mean a yellow summer squash then yes, if you mean a hard skinned winter squash that's yellow, then no. ~ karen!
Jackie
Hello,
I am growing many things from seed this year. I love gardening, but usually purchase my plants. My initial zucchini stem is long to the point of being limp...” that’s what she said “. I will be planing in the garden in a few days. Should I plant it deeper so it is not flopping over ?
Karen
Hi Jackie. You can plant it a tiny bit deeper, and then just mound soil up around the stem that's above soil to give it stability. ~ karen!
Anne Sapphire
As I have a small vege garden I have always grown my zucchini inside medium vegetable cages, about 12inches apart. New Zealand summers are very humid and powdery mildew has always been a problem. This year I removed the lower leaves every week and had NO powdery mildew when all my friends were complaining how bad it was this year. Also seemed to have better fruit. I works!
Karen
It really does! ~ karen
Kris
Vintage revivals just shared this post on Instagram and my mind is blown! I’m planting my garden tomorrow and doing this!!!!! Thank you!!!!
Karen
Well it's a BIG day for you then! Planting the garden AND having the best zucchini method in the world. I mean, you should probably eat a piece of cake in celebration. Good luck! ~ karen!
Cindy W
I'll have to try this. My favorite is tromboncini or trombone squash. They are less watery than zucchini and grow into fantastic shapes. I’ve used a folding trellis and trained the vines up and over, but haven’t pruned so they inevitably turn into a jungle and get powdery mildew (still get plenty of squash). I end up finding 10 pound monsters when cleaning up that are no longer edible, in my opinion, squirrels don’t seem to care. I'd post a picture if I could figure that out.
Karen
Hey Cindy! Pictures can't be posted here but if you'd like to send it to me you can do so at karen@theartofdoingstuff.com I've contemplated those squash for years, lol. Maybe if I happen upon some seeds THIS will be the year. ~ karen!
Cindy W
Seeds are readily available. I've gotten them from Territorial Seed, Gurneys, Park seeds and saw that Amazon even carries them. With Covid driving up seed demand, I bought a startling number from Amazon 💁
Michele
Can I do this with spaghetti squash too? Or are they too heavy?
Karen
Hi Michele! This technique is just for zucchini (or other summer squash). With winter squash like spaghetti squash you can either trellis them (just give them something to climb on) or you can prune them in a similar manner to keep them in check. But they're too gargantuan to stake. :) ~ karen!
Skyfure
I'm planting everything in growing bags instead of the ground. We're moving them into the carport to avoid high winds (really bad storms this week in TN) and we move them again if the temp drops below 40' to avoid frost .... since my dirt is brand new (miracle grow) do you think I'll have the same bug problems as planting in the ground? I def want to try staking, pruning & foil at the base. I'm probably gonna thin the plants... 2 to a 5 gal bag (have 5 in now) and my spaghetti squash is also starting great & growing fast! I may try the cross pollination via a q-tip... love all the tips! I'm hoping for a Victory garden to help us & all our family/friends thru this pandemic.
Thanks! Sky
Karen
Hi Sky! Most grubby things like cutworms or vine borer come from the soil so you should be relatively safe with respect to those things (but I can't guarantee 100%). You'll just have the other bugs to deal with like cucumber beetles which transfer bacterial wilt and that sort of thing. I'd like an all bag garden, I bet it looks neat and tidy when they're all lined up in a row. ~ karen!
Candi
Great advice! Novice gardener here. I’m growing squash and zucchini in a raised bed (literally built 3 ft off the ground), next to a privacy fence. Would you still recommend this method?
Diana
Awesomeness! Going to give this a go this year. My question is about watering. Soakerhose or drip? I live in Colorado
stephen corsaro
I use old almond milk jugs. Drill holes in the base and fill them daily. You can use liquid fertilizer too and get measured watering. Keeps moisture off the leaf and reduces diseases.
Charlotte
I transpplanted my zucchini into my garden about 30 days ago. They now have fruit about 3 inches long. Is it too late to stake it near the center stalk? I would really like to grow them upwards.
Chay
You CAN still do it - I did! 😋
Andrea Sinclair
This should be interesting for me because this will be the first year I don't deliberately grow zucchini. You see a few years back I had a possum come through and steal some of my zucchini. Well he spread the zucchini seeds like a seed fairy amd now I get 6 to 10 random zucchini plants every year lol. It's actually kinda fun. I shared with him amd he gave me more plants lol.
Chelsea
That’s hysterical!
Lynn
Would it work to use a tomato cage?
Karen
Hi Lynn! Tomato cages wouldn't allow you to prune the base the way you need to plus believe it or not they probably wouldn't allow enough support. You really need to tie those stems onto something very sturdy because they get much thicker and stronger than tomato stems. You could try though and prove me wrong! With gardening you never really know until you try, lol. ~ karen!
David
I used tomato cages last year and the problem was the weight of the zucchinis "strangled" their stems as they folded over the thin rings and many of the fruits didn't develop properly. Going to try staking this year instead.
Barb
I did that last year and it didn’t work whatsoever. I will stake them this year.
Dale
I find that "Tomato cages" are really only good for supporting chile plants and bushy beans. Thx.
Suzanne
This may be a silly question.
It was recommended I pollinate the flowers on my own to prevent end rot. I was told to take pollen from male flower and put on female flower. How do I know which flower is which?
Dan Bandieri
Suzanne, Please take my response with the humor intended. Who carries the baby, the mommy or the daddy? When there is a tiny zucchina (Italian singular) attached to the flower, it's the female flower, the male doesn't have the baby. You can pick the male flowers, not all of them!, and stuff them with a meatball mix, fold the tips of the flower over the stuffing and bake them. Buono!
Kim
I don’t know if you’ll ever see this Dan, but your reply cracked me up. I had no idea, but once you explained it - totally clear. Years ago I had to explain to my dad that female cows needed to be pregnant/have had a baby to make milk. He didn’t believe me. Same principle behind that idea. Sex is similar for cows and plants.
Margi
I found Dan's comment sweet and sensitive while yours was judgemental and belittling.
Heather
Dan, Not funny. The person who asked the question about pollination for her zucchini to prevent end rot, she is coming to you for genuine help. She does not need any sarcasm. Please show genuine and Honest kindness to her instead. Kindness , especially genuine and truly honest kindness goes a long way. And when you show that type of kindness she will come back to you for help again.
Amber Bybee
It was funny Heather.
Terry
Oh my goodness, Heather! You should plant some sense of humor! It WAS funny!
Jon
You are from another planet.
Jon
You are from another planet.You have no life.
Michelle
Heather, are you sure that your name is not Karen? He wasn't even rude!
Angelina
He was not being sarcastic and his description is the perfect way to remember it. We should watch our responses lest we ourselves are the ones who are unkind.
Karen ( not Karen Bertelsen)
Ok, so my name is Karen, and I am not the author of this blog, i am another Karen- Karen was the most popular name of the year that I was born, just btw- AND- I have to rant - I think maybe Heather should now be the “ name “ that pops up in Urban Dictionary for cranky, pompous , overbearing women....but that would not be kind, calm, or very nice. Loved your explanation Dan, it was funny, and informative.
The world needs more smiles 😀
Angie Furger
Blossom rot is apparebtly contributed to a lack of calcium. Grind up your eggshells and place them the same hole as the plant/seed. You can add crushed shells it the top as the plant gets bigger. I hope that helps.
Paula
I just saw a video about blossom end rot & the lady attributed it to lack of calcium. Either your soil needs more moisture so the plant can take up more calcium from the soil, or if not your soil may be depleted of calcium. You will need a fix that is quicker than eggshells. She ground up 3 TUMS into a powder, and put them around the base of the plant & watered it into the ground. (Water the soil only, not the leaves).
TUMS! Can you believe it?? The hard chalky kind of course, not the gummy or soft chewables.
Patricia Foster
I grind my organic, grass fed egg shells in a separate coffee grinder. It makes the shells into a very fine powder almost like talc. So I hope it breaks down quickly. I have a coffee can full that I carry to the garden and give to everything I plant. Great for tomato plants too.
Paula
that probably works just as well! But I was amazed that she used TUMS of all things. LOL!
Kathy
Regarding which are the male and which are female flowers...you won't see the babies on the female flowers unless they've been pollinated. However, its very easy: male flowers are on the longer "erect" (hahaha, that's how I remember it!) stems, and female flowers are on very short stems. I have successfully hand pollinated pumpkins by brushing pollen from the male flowers with a paint brush (like from a watercolor set) into a paper cup, then brushing the pollen onto the female flowers. Two weeks later, baby pumpkins!
annroberts54@yahoo.com
Kathy-yes, you do see the baby fruit before the flower is pollinated. I get up very early in the morning, before the flowers even start to open. The female flowers already have a tiny, but very recognizable fruit behind them, the males do not, just a long single stem attaching them to the plant
Anne
You need to bake the eggshells first, 250° for 10 minutes I think. Then grind in a blender.
Skunks won't want them then.
Irene
Wow thanks for that information. I’ve just been collecting them and putting on top of dirt. Will definitely do this next.
Kate
How tall should the stakes be?
Karen
Hi Kate. I use at least 4' high stakes (5' is better because you can sink them in the ground further) so that a minimum of 1' is in the ground to keep them sturdy with 3' above soil for the zucchini to be tied to. ~ karen!
Johnna Adams
We feed zucchini to all our birds. We raise quail and Chukar for meat and eggs. They can demolish a giant zucchini in 30 minutes. Looks like a pile of land piranhas. Thanks for the tip to make growing them more productive and less of a chore to pick them.
Suzanne
I will definitely be planting and maintaining my zucchini in like this! Thanks for the tip.
Wondering if you can offer support for such in in that seems to be developing fine and the next time you look the end farthest away from main stem is soft and wilted. Do you have suggestions to help this from happening? Or know why this could be happening?
Thanks!
Lisa H
Sounds like blossom end rot. I had trouble with that last summer and read that I needed to add calcium. I made a slurry with egg shells and vinegar and poured it on. Not sure how much it helped but it might have been too late.
Janice W
I tried this, but the eggshells attracted skunks!!! So I'm going to try tums or calcium tablets.
Chris
That you know will only attract stressed out skunks with indigestion ( wink)
Adam
Once I crack the eggs I rinse them in water to get excess proteins off. Then I crush them thoroughly and throw them in the compost. It doesn't break the shells down any further I don't think but it breaks down any remaining bits of white/membrane/egg flavour that might attract pests onto my patch.
Abbie
This can happen with vine borer.
Jayne
This happens if that particular fruit was not properly pollinated. So when I see a female flower, I hand pollinate it to make sure by taking a q tip, a small paint brush, or just my finger and I get a little pollen from the male flower and rub it on the female flowers. No more wimpy ends. Just full fruit.
Mimi
I have always hand pollinated, I remove the male blossom at the base of the stem and peel back the outer flower just leaving the stamen attached th the stem. Then just rub it in and around the female stamen. If you have multiple female blossoms open at the same time you can use the same male flower. We don't seem to have alot of bees in our area to take care of it naturally. Both male and female flowers only last 1 day so I do this every morning.
Candace
Or it might by those nasty vine boars that are at the base... they burrow into the hollow base and lay eggs making you plant suddenly appear limp wilted and dying.
I am going to also try this method but I was wondering about the vine boars... should we wrap those open areas snuggly with like coban AKA ace bandage so those critters can’t get in so easy through those holes?
KC
Old Alabama Gardener has a great video about the squash vine borer.
Lucy
Do you have the link?
kathy
https://www.almanac.com/pest/squash-vine-borer
I've used diatomaceous earth very successfully. Good luck!
Vincent J. Guarrasi
Your tutorial is extremely useful, thank you! I have one question: From another blog I was misled into planting three seeds close together and those groups about a meter apart. They are now burgeoning well. The question is can I transplant to separate the three that are close together one foot intervals as you suggested?
Many thanks keep up the good work.
Kevin from MDUSA
Yes, tease them apart as gently as you can. Give the transplants 10 days until you feed them, because shocked plants get worse not better w fertilizer. You can however distribute worm castings around the base of the plants.
Susan
This is exciting to see. I do have this question; how do I keep those nasty fat, flat bugs off my zucchini and squash plants? I get them every time I try and grow them.
Zach Knapp
It won't keep them off.....but I have been using soapy water in a garden sprayer and it kills them dead. Apparently they breath through their exoskeleton and the soap clogs the holes they breath through. Just make sure you use a biodegradable soap or something natural.
Nancy Love
Hi y'all! My first time to read a post of yours Karen! I will be reading kuch more. I love your humor! On those gross bugs! I used neems oil last year and it totally worked! I did attempt pruning and staking...did it very wrong, and I mulched! Catastrophe! But the neems worked. Directions for dilution on the bottle. God bless!
Karen
Hi nancy! Welcome to my site. It's the perfect place to be if you like to sweat, swear and do stuff. You don't have to do all 3, but you need a minimum of two. ;) Try again with the zucchini staking. It works GREAT! ~ karen
Brenda
Neem oil and soap was what I used but still those ornery bugs were there.
Dmd
I plants lots of marigolds around my zucchini and don’t have squash bugs. When the marigold flowers shrivel up I pick them and put them around the base and on top of leaves, the scent is strong and keeps the bugs away.
Nancy Love
I do that too with the marigolds I also replant the seeds in the area.
Jill
Do butternut squash also get their nutrients & growth from the leaves above? I'm planning on growing some this year in a heavy duty tomato cage.
Mw
They grow on a vine and not like a zucchini.