We decided to mix things up in the garden this year by growing some zucchini, since we all can not get enough of the deliciousness that is squash. Sauteed, grilled, spiralized, shredded, this vegetable always has a place in our meal plans. Everything just tastes better when you grow it yourself, so naturally we wanted to give it a try with a new vegetable around here.

Prep Work

I did some reading on zucchini varieties, planting tips, watering techniques, and pollination tips so I hope we are ready. I picked Burpee Hybrid Zucchini – Summer Squash.

Watering

One of the coolest tips I read about was sinking a pot in the ground near the zucchini hills for the purposes of deep watering during the summer. We drink a lot of coffee around here, so I used a few of our lidded Folger’s coffee containers instead of a plant pot.

I cut holes on opposite sides of the container, and when placed in the ground the holes would be next to future plants. When I placed the cans in the ground the kids asked what I was doing, and naturally responded with “planting coffee trees!” (Trying to teach the kids about sarcasm. Apparently it’s an age thing where they start to understand between first and second grade.)

I am keeping the lids on the containers so excess water does not get in and create an environment for mosquitoes to breed.

Planting

I have three pots in the ground with four seeds – now seedlings on each side. I picked two to let grow on each side, and will remove one more so I have a plant on each side. Something was already munching on the sprouts! I’m feeling it might be crowded without a trellis, but we’ll see. We like experimenting around kind of like do you reaaaaaaaaallly need to thin your carrots?

Zucchini plants with lidded coffee can for water

 

https://i0.wp.com/www.thesugarpixie.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/wpid-20150518_115404-e1432087469145.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1https://i0.wp.com/www.thesugarpixie.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/wpid-20150518_115404-e1432087469145.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1thesugarpixieGardeninggarden 2015,gardening,zucchiniWe decided to mix things up in the garden this year by growing some zucchini, since we all can not get enough of the deliciousness that is squash. Sauteed, grilled, spiralized, shredded, this vegetable always has a place in our meal plans. Everything just tastes better when you grow...Misadventures and fun in the kitchen and beyond