How to grow and harvest summer squash

Summer squash is one of the easiest and most prolific vegetables you can grow. Here are a few tips on how to do it successfully.

Instructions

1. 

   Check out all the different colors, shapes and flavors available in stores, on the internet and in seed catalogs. There are so many choices you might just as well find your favorites or grow some varieties that you can't find in the market.

2. 

   Plant seeds or small plants in the springtime as soon as the soil has thawed and there is no more threat of frost. If you have problems with rodents stealing the seed before it germinates, start it indoors or buy small plants in 6-packs.

3. Grow them on the richest soil you have. Summer squash loves organic matter and will happily grow on the top of your compost heap!

4. 

   Make sure you keep the plants well watered. When they begin to bloom you can tell the difference between the female flowers that will carry the fruit and the male plants. The female have miniature fruits at the base.

5. 

   The males are necessary for pollination. If you have a shortage of bees, you can always use a soft paint brush and transfer the yellow pollen from the male flower over to the interior of the female flower to make the vegetable/fruit grow.

6. Harvest zucchinis and other summer squash as soon as they are big enough to be eaten. These plants are extraordinarily fast growers and if you don't check them regularly, the perfect-sized vegetables will turn into monstrous baseball bats in a few days. Most of these overgrown vegetables will have tough skin and seeds too big to eat. But you can hollow out the seeds and stuff the shells with rice, meat or other vegetables and bake them. It's still best to crop the squash when small, though, since the larger 'fruits' will deplete the plant's energy and it will die sooner producing a much smaller crop.

7. Harvest by cutting about an inch up the stem from the join to the vegetable. All vegetables have the highest vitamin content earlier in the morning hours, but you can cut them at any time. Just keep the plants watered and more squash will follow. Again, these are the easiest plants to grow in your vegetable garden. Give them full sun, good soil and plenty of water and you won't go hungry all season long!