I like fully developed zucchini at the end of the season. After harvesting all summer long, those really fully grown ones are the best. They also get tougher skin and can last several months in a cool and unheated place. The mature ones also come with those all important seeds. For another summer.

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

Great thoughts! I think I have a bit more learning to do about the stages of zucchini.

The small zucchinis are delicious!! Tender and mild, we prefer them!!

@laredare3819

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! I have read it’s the bigger ones that get bitter and can actually be unhealthy for you. 5 to 7 inches ideal size

@atom069

2 жыл бұрын

@@laredare3819 You are 100% correct, that's why mini zuccs tend to cost much more at most supermarkets/farmer's markets. They should be sweeter/mild, and with very little to no seed. The bigger they get, they more bitter they get in my opinion. I mean everyone has their preference of course, but you can even eat the baby ones like that without cooking.. raw like in many South East Asian recpies. *I forgot to say that the overgrown larger zuccs are actually called Marrow instead which are mostly just used in baking.

Thanks for the information it’s very helpful

That zuke was pollinated. It’s green. If it weren’t pollinated it wouldn’t be that size ( it would stop at 1/4 that size )and it would be browning or yellow. Ants are better pollinators than bees and can get into a basically closed flower. Yes you will do better with 2-3 or 4 plants but I’ve gotten 6 fruit off a single plant before any other produced flowers. Tums in water, once a week for 4 weeks...grind it up to a very fine powder or yeah, sprinkle powder on the soil but it’s slower to get in that way. Organic fertilizers only and 2x a year with a good one works for me.

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

Awesome pointers! Thanks!

@Zizzyyzz

3 жыл бұрын

Yup. 👆🏽

@jeanbean1390

2 жыл бұрын

How many tums to how much water?

Thankyou very informative,well done

Good. Short and informative

Thanks for info

Great tips. Helpful video. My zucchini’s just started flowering. Glad I planted four!

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks! And definitely a good call to plant at least four. Best of luck growing them!

Beautiful zucchini, gorgeous home garden 😍

Yep little things are the best!

That was really helpfull 👩🏻‍🌾 Thank you from germany Katja

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

So glad to help!

My first time this year growing courgettes, its been a great success few things il do different next year tho.

Good video, the housekeeping on the leaf is a good point if the leaf becomes shaded or discoloured. 2 plants enough for a family of 4 if you don't want to overload on the fruits and overdose. feed well allow air in and if powdery mildew shows up spray with watery milk (1:3), should be enough calcium in soil or put a small handful of crushed eggshell in the soil before planting same as tomato plants.. I have never had pollination issues with 2 plants and I get at least one fruit every second day which is enough for courgette twice a week - plenty unless you are preserving them. Keep the videos coming we can always learn more.

@ExpertOfThings

3 жыл бұрын

Awesome tips, thanks for sharing!

I just made a Zucchini.Bell Pepper,onion,cilantro,and Kielbasa. All from my garden. Grow your own. Make enough for my elderly and disabled neighbors. They love my cooking.

the little ones are the best!

I had trouble with these plants even though hand pollinated and great soul. I keep lower leaves trimmed but I did do the tums trick tonight so see if that helps my plants. Soil*

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

We're rooting for you. We finally succumbed to our battle with the vine borders.:-( Next season: row covers!

I'd say a reason you seem to get so many not pollinated is to over pruning. While pruning can be helpful, over pruning removes to many male flowers.

@ExpertOfThings

Жыл бұрын

Good insights, thank you!

Interesting video. One thing I don't understand is that I recently read that most garden soils have plenty of calcium. So why do you recommend adding calcium?

I think that small zucchini did get pollinated, otherwise it would not have developed at all, not even a little. I would let it grow. Might need some fertilizer, to speed up production.

@Cate7451

4 жыл бұрын

Might have, maybe he has a reply, one could just pick it though, but it did look like my nonpolunated one that died off so it is a great demonstration for us beginners.lol

Zuchs are easy to pollinate by hand. You just have to do it when you have both male and female flowers open - usually early morning. Take a Q-tip or something similar - even your finger will do - swirl around the stamen to pickup some pollen and then brush it onto the stigma of the female flower. If you watched this video you already know how to identify the male vs female flowers. The stamen and stigma will be obvious when you look at them. You don't need to pollinate from a different plant but you can.

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

Awesome breakdown on the hand pollination, thank you!

@bigsidable

2 жыл бұрын

Been doing that every morning. Making lots of zucchini dishes. Got ten plant. I notice that my 2nd planting is better than my first. Way healthier and grew faster. In a whole different soil. Tells me my first plant soil was not healthy enough . Got some nice tasty Zucchini off of them though. See how my 2nd planting goes. It just starting to flower.

Can the pollinisation still work if you have different varieties of zuchini?

Omg! I just leaned ants are Pollinators !! I planted the zucchinis on pots not on the ground due to space. Thought ants were bad and use so many chemical to get rid off them that my plants are not giving fruits 🤣😢 in few words, I killed my plants and not the 🐜

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

Oh no! Sorry to hear that! Well, we're all figuring this Gardening thing out together, right?! ;-)

@mayraaguilar1090

4 жыл бұрын

Leaning during the quarantine 😊 next year will be better. Thanks for the video very well explained 🌺

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

@@mayraaguilar1090 Sounds like a similar boat. Next year will be better, indeed! Best of luck!

This is my second year growing zucchini, even with hand pollination some of the female flowers drop and leafs were having some yellowing, even small new leafs. Added some fertilizer and may have burnt them, a lot more leaf yellowing. There were some striped cucumber beetle issues, had to spray pyrethrin at night to stop them. Never sprayed flowers to avoid killing pollinators. How long do zucchini produce over the summer, do they die off in the August heat (zone 5b)? What is the best fertilizer to use and how often?

@davidmiles533

4 жыл бұрын

Flower drop may be calcium. Blossom end rot is too.

@heidimisfeldt5685

4 жыл бұрын

Yellow leaves signal the need for more nitrogen. Next year place garden waste and grass clippings in the containers along with the soil for them to grow in. Like last years tree leaves, a great source of minerals for plants. I mix all these into the containers I grow my plants in. I add crushed eggshells and shopped banana peels as well. Carrot peels, etc. I always top it of with some black soil, or triple mix, or manure. Whatever I have.

Why are the stalks black looking? I have one plant that looks like that and I am wondering if something is wrong

I had several squash plants ( zucchini and yellow) but, one night, my nearby tomatoe plants were bitten off by deer. The remedy, I was told, was to make a mix of Srirrach/water 1:16, filter it through a coffee filter and spray the tomato plants as deer do not like it. It worked..BUT the spray must have reached the nearby squash plants which, all but one, died. I am thinking that the spray scared off the pollinating bugs. Suggestion: Keep Zukes away from other plants.

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your experiences! There are so many things to be learned from trial and error.

My plant keep producing only male fLowers and it is already first week of July :(

Just cut up that little zucchini and throw it in your steamer or insta-pot or in any soup or stew. You don't know what you are missing. Throwing it away is a waste. I steam or insta-pot young acorn squash, spag squash, scallop squash or whatever comes off the plant a bit early. Also, if any of those squash varieties appears to have a worm hole, I cut it open and get rid of the part with the worm and cook it up just the same. If I was in a survival situation, I'd eat the worm too.

@ExpertOfThings

3 жыл бұрын

LOVE these thoughts!

@jeanbean1390

2 жыл бұрын

I tried to prepare two of my small zucchinis and they were nearly impossible to slice. I cooked the pieces I could slice and the skins were TOUGH. Not pleasant to eat.

@beckypetersen2680

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, I saw on another video that the small zucchini - the size of your hand - is how you are supposed to eat them. I've never had one that small, though. Maybe I'll try.

Pls show us from seeds planting and how to take care the soft stem until become strong enough to carry heavy leaves

@kevinbossick8374

3 жыл бұрын

I direct sow the seeds. They are very easy. Just water and feed regularly.

I agree that zucchinis grow really fast if they're correctly pollinated. Some of my zucchinis become yellow as they start growing. Does it need more calcium or did it not get pollinated correctly? Btw... how do I add calcium to the plant?

@kendrasmith6637

3 жыл бұрын

We use organic garden lime. Comes in powder form in a bag.

I decided to grow some zucchinis and pumpkins this year but I'm really worried about the cross-pollinated. It's said that different varieties of squash are very easy to cross-pollinated, hopefully, I won't get some weird "zupkins"...

@meaganhiller3029

3 жыл бұрын

I had zucchini and yellow squash plants altogether and hoped something cool would happen! Nothing did!

@jackeyji8142

3 жыл бұрын

@@meaganhiller3029 I do some research, and some people said that only the seeds from a cross-pollinated zucchini or squash will grow into a weird plant (AKA a new hybrid variety), if you know wanna save the seeds, nothing unusual will happen.

Im growing this for the first time this year. Mine got to the size of yours on the right but the flower is still pretty tightly closed?? Why is it not opening but the zucs getting bigger? Im confused lol its supposed to open to get pollinated no?

@ExpertOfThings

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, not quite sure on that one. I've always seen the flowers open for pollination. Uncertain as to why they wouldn't...

Hi, is it ok to trim the leaves before they start holding fruits?

@ExpertOfThings

3 жыл бұрын

I don't think we have tried that, so I can't say for sure. However, if you just leave several leaves, it should stay alive and keep growing.

@terriwhite2911

3 жыл бұрын

Yes. Pruning aids in airflow, reduces powdery mildew, and allows pollinators to get into flowers easier.

Your video is excellent well explained but zucchini 4 plants 2 pulls out 2 left I think it’s waists of money buy from supermarket no hessel

We grew a Huge zucchini that was 5 1/2 inches wide and 20 inches long!!

@lolodee3528

3 жыл бұрын

Squash-zilla

@atom069

2 жыл бұрын

I mean if you are doing it for fun sure, you can always keep fruit on the plants to get bigger and bigger, same with cucumbers. Sadly the plant directed most of it's life and noots to that instead of making correctly sized fruit.

@beastslayer9153

2 жыл бұрын

@@atom069 "correctly sized fruit"/?? you must be one of those people that think men cant get pregnant!

I've had so many problems with my zucchini plants. Tried regular watering, trimming the leaves, hand pollination, adding dolomite lime, crushing ant- acid tablets and spraying them. Nothing works. I always have tiny female zucchini buds and it then becomes yellow and drops. I'm about to give up

@ExpertOfThings

3 жыл бұрын

They definitely were tricky for us, too. What eventually did the plants in was the vine borer bugs. We definitely need to start over in a new stop, using row covers, and see if we can cut down on the pests. Only problem with the row covers is that it keeps the bees out, so we'll have to do some hand pollinating...

I have a problem every year no matter where I put my zucchini plants that I end up with Squash Vine Borer. I have tried everything and even though I have cut out the vine borer from the actual plant, the plant just withers up after that and dies. I can’t seem to get rid of this bloody insect to save myself. I live in Maryland and I was told to get rid of soil in raised beds every year so to get rid of eggs from these buggers. What am I doing wrong year after year? No matter where I put my raised bed, these suckers infect my plants and kill them off before I even get one zucchini.

PICK a male, carefully remove pedals without disturbing pollen, now rub gently on female and tap pollen into flower. PREVENT cross pollination by tying or putting a clip to close female flower! Happy Gardening 🌹

I feed zuchini to my worm bins.

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You so cute

Gotta be kidding...need a KZread video on this? It grows like a weed!

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

Amazingly, as this video was so somewhat experimental for me, it has taken in a surprising number of views. Guessing a lot of other people have run into issues growing it...

@chrissturgeon1571

4 жыл бұрын

Not were I live. It takes real coddling to get zukes to grow here. Thank you Josh for your helpful tips!

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

@@chrissturgeon1571 My pleasure! Happy to share my learning experiences, and best of luck on your zucchini endeavors! ;-)

@Cate7451

4 жыл бұрын

I have grown them before but now I have learned a lot from you tube videos. Learn a little from each video. I had a lot of females but now I know why they didn't produce. A q-tip works good too.

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

@@Cate7451 Awesome to be able to learn from each other! Thanks for sharing your tips!

The small zucchinis are delicious!! Tender and mild, we prefer them!!

@ExpertOfThings

4 жыл бұрын

So awesome to know!

@johnbasiglone1219

3 жыл бұрын

"That's what she said", Michael Scott, Mgr. Dunder Mifflin, Scranton Office