Growing ZUCCHINI Intensively At Home for Maximum Yield and Plant Health | Step-by-Step Guide

Is it too early to start thinking about zucchini bread baked from home-grown squash? Never. It's never too early.
Luckily, summer squash are not only a versatile ingredient in the kitchen, they're a beautiful and prolific addition to your vegetable garden too.
In this video, we'll cover practical strategies for growing a bumper crop of summer squash. You’ll learn the how and why of selecting an incredible variety, growing your own seedlings, planting seeds, caring for your starts, preparing the perfect planting site, keeping your squash plants healthy, harvest strategies, how to deal with zucchini problems and pests, and much more!
Join us as we grow one of everyone's favorite garden staples: the amazing summer squash!
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→ Early Summer Crookneck: amzn.to/3R1i3GB
→ Yellow Pattypan: amzn.to/3VfNejJ
→ Round Zucchini: amzn.to/3UZsvzz
→ Green Machine: www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetable...
→ Dunja: www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetable...
These products* are my favorite for our home garden:
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:43 Seeds and Planting
07:55 Seedling Care
10:20 Soil Prep & Transplant
19:47 Plant Health & Care
28:36 Succession Cropping & Common Problems
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VISIT MY AMAZON STOREFRONT FOR GARDEN PRODUCTS* I LOVE
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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO:
Parthenocarpy study: agronomy.unl.edu/documents/pa...
Utah extension office guide to summer squash: www.sare.org/wp-content/uploa...
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*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
#gardening #homesteading #growyourownveggies

[@lisa32469]

I have a chicken that loves being held and loved on too...I'm not sure I'll ever have one like her again. She's 11 years old❤

[@NextdoorHomestead]

She's the only one like that in our little flock too! She was a bit sickly as a chick and got extra attention. Not sure if it was that or Orpingtons are just sweet!

[@breakdown2878]

We had one like that. Rhode Island Red hen named Henny Penny. She would jump fence and find us to be held

[@PatC.]

For those like me who battle vine borers, the patty pan are more resistant to those.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Love patty pan! Not a true summer squash, but tromboncino are good for this too!

[@emkn1479]

I’ve always direct seeded but we had so many pests last year…this year I started them inside so they have a fighting chance. Hoping for a better experience this year.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Best of luck! I very rarely bother direct seeding any cucurbits family plant anymore for this reason.

[@hopebradley1417]

You said "happy gardening, y'all". I'm zone 8a in Texas. I'm so hopefully this works here as well.

[@charleeghee7195]

He didn't seem to think that trimming unnecessary leaves beneficial for diseases but I have found that good air circulation is great for powdery mildew. Also, I wish a lot more had been said about the squash vine borers. Year after year I've tried every technique that the gardeners on YT have suggested such as tougher varieties, removing the bottom leaves and tying up the squash plant, various organic pest sprays, covering the stems, etc etc, etc. Nothing has stopped the squash vine borers. I had the most beautiful squash (3 varieties), that I watered and fertilized, tied up the vining ones, using DE, etc. All efforts were pointless. The only thing left is to cover with a pest cloth at the as soon as they are planted and each day uncover them to fertilize the female flowers. Oh my, not having fun. 😢

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Sorry to hear it! Have you tried a parthenocarpic variety under netting to cut down on all that work?

[@charleeghee7195]

@@NextdoorHomestead I was going to try the netting next. I'm looking up the parthenocarpic varieties which are hard to find. It's not desirable that these won't reproduce and you have to keep buying more seeds. Still I'll probably try it. Thanks.

[@robinbrown378]

Inject bt in the stem where you see the frass, then cover all the stem possible with dirt so that it can put down more roots.

[@SherrylandNC]

I cover until they flower 😊

[@tracycrider7778]

Buy a syringe and needle and bt. Inject bt into borer Problem solved ❤

[@anthonyMLTC]

Once the seed pops, I get them in the ground in after 10 days. This makes for great transplanting. Main point being its totally fine to be a few days later with summer squash.

[@jacquelyndevitte4992]

Thank you. This was really informative. My mother in law always said the small zucchini’s were the best. And she was right! So delicious.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I completely agree with her! Reminds me to go pick some this morning... =)

[@marcuspowell2510]

I’ve only ever grow Dark Star from a local seed company and these seem to perfect for my area because each one will produce for 5-6 months (slowing down in Nov and finally giving up usually because of powdery mildew in December) and our night time temps stay between 45-55 all summer. Just wish I loved the vegetable.😂

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I'll check those out, thanks for the rec! It would be cool to find a tougher open-pollinated strain to compete with the super expensive hybrids. It wasn't my favorite until we had to start experimenting to use it all up. I dig it now 😁

[@jocelynsmyth6604]

I'm one of those people that has always loved zucchini- you can definitely sneak it into chocolate cake, or muffins/bread, but it's easy to hide in spaghetti sauce too, and I like it julienne with Asian-style noodles - we live in an apartment with no balcony, but one day, I will have my squash plants haha. Echoing the video, pattipans are really delicious too, cut I into little wedges and sautéed

[@carriecreates1207]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with us!! I learned a lot of information!!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

No problem! So glad it was useful =) Hope your garden in shaping up beautifully!

[@yvonnew.116]

Amazing details!!! Thank u

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You're so welcome! Glad you appreciated the detail 😁

[@cindyt4778]

Great video and informative- thank you

[@NextdoorHomestead]

That's awesome to hear! Thanks for giving it a watch and hope you had a good weekend in the garden!

[@ElizabethStaeheli]

Thank you for an excellent gardening lesson! I am sharing!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

That's awesome! Hope your circle enjoys it =)

[@georgekahn3313]

So much great information Thank you

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You are so welcome! Really appreciate that 😃

[@nildaotero2933]

Excellent video, thanks for sharing

[@NextdoorHomestead]

So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching =)

[@vegvangyrl]

Loved your zucchini passion ! Makes me want to grow more . 🙏🤩great video! Thank You for the tips !

[@NextdoorHomestead]

No problem! They're producing like wild right now - hard not to get passionate about all this extra food =)

[@babystepsgarden6162]

Thank you!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You are so welcome!

[@donnayoung5942]

This is one of the best zucchini videos! Full of great details and good varieties. Thanjs

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You are quite welcome. That's a delight to hear. Hope yours produce like wild this summer =)

[@RoseBornagain]

I have tiny ones, I also seed a few extra they growing well so I will have not them at the same time, I live in Italy we eat the flowers, I clean the enter I gently add mozzarella , anchovy and basil, I close the flower I batter them and fry them, they are delicious. My my fav is eggplant.

[@Paislywalls4767]

My goodness, that sounds good! Hope you have a Great day! 🍃🕊🍃

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Wow yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Making me hungry for battered squash blossoms over here =)

[@heather1452]

Here in Canada - it is June 19th, we just had a nighttime low of 3 degrees (37F)...

[@PacificGardening]

Love those Johnny’s varieties

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Meeeee too. Editing this and noticing how many times I mentioned them made me laugh.

[@spakchitown]

So comprehensive!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I hope that's a good thing ;) Thanks for watching!

[@shannonelliott9230]

I'm really impressed with the detailed, step by step, nature of this video. So much information here! I'm not happy that some of the suggestions are for hybrids, but hybrids are not evil either. If a hybrid makes it so that you have production, it can make your garden experience worthwhile. Thank you for the video!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You are most welcome! I've switched over to hybrids primarily because I'm optimizing for production but try to include open pollinated alternatives when I can. I get having that preference =)

[@ShenanK]

They winter sow nicely, too. They are quite hardy that way!

[@babystepsgarden6162]

Planting Blue Hubbard Squash for a trap crop helps.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Good tip! I am a fan of trap crops but it's hard to balance in my small space.

[@LeoTrainer-if9gg]

Great video. Long term organic gardener here. One tip: if you’re planting when you’re not sure if it’s gonna be warm enough: start inside and USE A SOIL BLOCKER. I picked up a cheap Fiskers one at my local hardware store on clearance for under $10.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Thank you! Yeah, a soil blocker is a great tool for these plants with sensitive roots. Totally on the money!

[@istvanh1986]

Love the info here! We went with Center Cut squash from Row 7 seeds this year. Had one plant last year and it was highly productive. We did 5 plants this year on a chicken wire trellis. Wish I could post a pic here. Already have a dozen squash ready and looking forward to a whole lot more. The flavor is unlike any other squash. Would highly recommend!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Haha so my favorite part of making these grow guides is getting variety recommendations. I gotta try em! Favorite dish for zucchini?

[@istvanh1986]

@@NextdoorHomestead We do a lot of ratatouille at the house. Best preparation for the Center Cuts is just a very rough chop/oblique cut. Sear in cast iron with olive oil, salt and pepper, then roast for a few minutes at 350F. Their consistency is almost like custard. Flavor is phenomenal. Good with a bit of soy sauce and toasted sesame seed as well!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

@@istvanh1986 First off, that sounds amazing. Second off, I didn't realize center cut was a tromboncino type! I NEED to try it! Love tromboncino...

[@istvanh1986]

@@NextdoorHomestead Love it! I definitely just learned that term from your comment. They’re on the huge production and massive growth side of things here. Upstate SC

[@gailgrunschel4726]

Recipes Please! Would love to try the baby zucchini with the flower! Sounds delicious! Thanks for the great video!

[@sayadaramdial1700]

I've only really gotten a proper vegetable garden going for the first time last year, and grew costata romanesco, an heirloom italian variety that was quite good. It's supposed to be less prolific than other varieties, but we still got more than we needed off of 3 quite large plants, with no need to succession sow. This year I'm trying out another italian heirloom, rugosa fruilana, after looking through a bunch of options and reviews. Excited to see if they live up to their reputation, as lots of people raved about the flavour!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

That's awesome! We could probably get away with fewer plants but I sort of love having all the extras 😃

[@sayadaramdial1700]

@@NextdoorHomestead backups for your backups! 😄

[@sharonjennings1282]

Great in depth video. Nice to hear that relaxing voice again! If I want to harvest squash flowers, how long can I keep them? Refrigerate? A friend loves to bread and fry them like morels☺️. Thanks for another great video

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Well thank you for watching! I typically harvest and use them pretty soon after. They don't seem to keep well for me at least. I would refrigerate them for sure.

[@HillTopRooted]

How Adorable is Arthur? When you took your hand off her and held it up, she looked back and was like, “Hey, get that hand back rubbing me!” I laughed out loud! I know that move because I have an English Bulldog, named Pook, who does the exact same thing! 😂. My job is to rub, caress and pet her. She will give you the stank eye, if you try to stop once started. 🤣🤣🤣🤪. Great video! 💜

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I genuinely have no idea why she turned out so much chiller and friendlier than the rest of the flock. She's such a human-oriented chicken I swear! Pook sounds like she knows what she wants and how to get it! =)

[@HillTopRooted]

@@NextdoorHomestead yes, Pook absolutely does! 🥰 I think she’s really a human! I asked her to bark to call my daughter the other day and she did!!! She waited a couple minutes, as if she was contemplating whether she wanted me to know she understood what I was saying. 🥸 I kid you not, I was so shocked and amazed! 😭🤪. I cannot wait to get my chickens. I’m doing tons of video watching and research now. 💜

[@LMLewis]

Your Yellow Crookneck doesn't meet your requirement of earlier than 45 days. I have had great results from Blonde Beauty, a yellow squash that produces abundantly and matures in only 40 days! Enjoyed your video--very well done!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You're quite right - I should have better differentiated between "novelty/specialty" varieties and big producing zucchinis. I will 100% check out blonde beauty though - that sounds awesome.

[@magafam4847]

Yeah squash zucchini ate every night had extra fam of 5 from maybe 10 to 12 plants

[@veraw2121]

Or zucchini brownies 😋

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Mmmmm brownies.... Got a favorite recipe? 😁

[@tpen891]

What about Mellittia Cucurbitae moth? Have less trouble with powdery mildew as much as the Vine Borer that can take our my squash before they even have time to produce more than two or three squash. Got to look into the squash that you said does not need a pollinator.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Our dunja is starting to produce nicely and it's a lovely plant =) Good luck if you try it (or another parthenocarpic variety)!

[@yoyummyor]

Wow harvesting in may, we’re are not even hitting 55 degrees at night, it’s still too cold to transplant here even in June!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

That's got to be super tough! Our nights tend to stay a bit chilly but daytimes heat up here FAST. We use giant layers of compost to help warm the soil too.

[@bizzybits1918]

I have trouble with pillbugs chewing on the yellow squash that touches the ground. Have added wood mulch, hoping that helps. Maybe I need to put out some pill bug traps. Defeated the squash vine borers this year by injecting BT into the stems.

[@bizzybits1918]

San Marcos tx Z9

[@ardenthebibliophile]

Squash vine borer is my nemesis. Unfortunately it's cucurbita moschata or bust for me

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I'm a huge fan of moschata varieties. Hope you've found some that work for you!

[@ardenthebibliophile]

@@NextdoorHomestead Tahitian melon has been a winner the past few years but this year I'm doing a variety trial of ~10 different moschatas

[@NextdoorHomestead]

@@ardenthebibliophile I would genuinely LOVE to know your thoughts following your trial. Moschata do very well for us. FWIW, my favorite winter squash by FAR is the tetsukabuto, which is an interspecies hybrid of maxima x moschata.

[@ardenthebibliophile]

@@NextdoorHomestead will do!

[@katrinagarland5219]

Wish you had done a close up of the squash seeds... both ends look pointy to me. :)

[@magafam4847]

Yeah had black beauty and green machine summer squash crook neck exploded

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Ours are going MAD right now. So fun =)

[@trae74]

Good morning

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Mornin'!

[@jeanettesilhouette5678]

I bought zucchini seedlings at the garden store. There were sometimes 2 and even 3 growing together in the little wells. They were kind of root bound when I pulled them out to plant and I was afraid to tease them apart. So I just planted them as they were. Should I leave them like that or cut the extra ones away? Thanks

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Cut the extras away unfortunately. I'm assuming you mean there are two or three seedlings growing right up next to each other?

[@elizabethdscala]

Any advice for beds (and plants) that have been struck by Squash borers?..... I'm in south central TX where we plant early because it's hotter than heck already and I'm really suffering with these bugs and what they are doing to my soil for next year already.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Do you happen to know the variety? There are some very different looking varieties of chard out there. It may even be an entirely different plant depending on your region (plant naming can be a little confusing).

[@martinaparrrish5397]

Thanks ,very detailed but I guess you don't have to deal with the squash bugs and vine borers in your area.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Thanks for watching! I tried to talk about our bug management strategies at the end. I don't use pesticides in the garden so our approach may feel different.

[@crasshh44]

We’re do you buy your seeds, do yo mail order them? 3:41

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Mostly Johnny's and Migardener =)

[@chocolate_chip21]

Doesn't the organic granular fertilizer also take a long time to break down?

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Yes! Compared to synthetic fertilizers anyhow. Although it (typically) has some ingredients that are relatively faster to become available and some that are a bit slower. But it's fast enough if used as a pre-plant application =)

[@INeedABeatDJ]

I have beautiful plants, pollination is my biggest problem. Most don’t get proper pollination and just rot on the plant. I’m going to try a parth variety next year. Any you recommend for zucchini and yellow squash???

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Dunja for zucchini has been great for us! This cornell study looked at some yellow summer squash varieties too: www.hort.cornell.edu/expo/proceedings/2014/Vine%20crops/Seedless%20squash%20Reiners.pdf Golden glory looks great IMO but I haven't grown it!

[@INeedABeatDJ]

@@NextdoorHomestead Thanks for the study. What’s awesome is I just happened to plant a few Golden Glory in my 2nd planting this season. Hopefully they’re as good as the study says they are.

[@floridaprepper598]

So what months are you putting them in the ground

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I can plant them from April into late summer here with varying degrees of success. But will just depend on your overnight low temps.

[@jing6451]

I’m growing Corinto cucumber this year. It has developed the first 3 fruits nicely but then the next 4 female fruits have become brown and withered. They don’t need pollination. Why would that happen? Have you experienced this with parthenocarpic cucumbers?

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Yeah, it's a bummer but other things can cause the plant to fail to mature the fruit. Often it's environmental stress like too much heat or too little water.

[@2008rmartin]

Squah helps control parasites in chicken too

[@irispakola2195]

My seedling plants turn yellow did they dry up or to much water?

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Low water will normally be pretty obvious because they'll droop and shrivel then get a bit crispy. If you aren't seeing that, they may low on nutrients as well.

[@karonmartin7553]

Ive got yellow squash plants and all male flowers , how do i get the plant to make female flowers ????

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Generally it's just a matter of waiting for them to start setting females. It's common for the first flush to be all or primarily males.

[@minerva7217]

Powdery mildew is an issue, but my question is this: is he using GMO seeds? Does he mention that these seed packets are organic?

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Hiya! Nope, no way for me to even get GMO seeds. You pretty much need to be a large scale farmer and signing contracts for your seeds to get GMO. Both the zuchinnis I highlighted are organic but you can probably find them cheaper as non-organic from other sellers.

[@trae74]

3 weeks since the last video!!! What the heck bro? Lol

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Tell me about it. I don't know how folks get so many videos out! I started filming one last week and couldn't use the audio because a neighbor was doing work on their foundation.

[@nikkidean6306]

You...

[@PlantObsessed]

I have the patty pan and also the round zucchini. I'm so glad they have found these cool breeds. Great video. Beautiful photography.🪱😀👍🏼

[@NextdoorHomestead]

HI! Thanks so much for the kind words as always. I do love the odd shaped ones myself - just wish I had some that stood up to mildew a little better =) I'm sure they're out there, just have to keep experimenting!

[@Shaye333]

Hmph

[@DL-nr9wn]

Do you have a problem with squash bugs?

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Yes! They are common unfortunately. We try to do what we can to provide habitat for natural predators along with the strategies discussed in this video.

[@6996katmom]

I love zucchini, but no matter what, the moth always lays her eggs, then they ruin my plants.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

How frustrating! Have you tried growing under netting for part / all of its lifecycle?

[@ElizabethStaeheli]

Try the spray. I'm using it. Not the chemical kind, but the "deet free" with only organic, natural plant oils in it.

[@ElizabethStaeheli]

Spray the VINES

[@6996katmom]

@@NextdoorHomestead I am just now putting netting over them to try and stop the moth from laying her eggs.

[@Honey4280]

I thought zucchini didn’t like to be transplanted.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

It's a common bit of advice but one I disagree with.

[@ThomasG-og4yb]

I'm sorry but does "Arthur" identify as a rooster? I'm trying to be politically correct😂

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Nope! Just named 'em all after Arthurian legend characters.