How to Grow Zucchini From Seed

Zucchini is a warm-season crop, so wait until the danger of frost has passed and your soil has warmed to about 70F, usually one to two weeks after your last frost date. Cold, wet soil rots the seed, so patience here pays off.

Timing shifts by region. In hot-summer areas like Texas and the South, sow in early spring and again in late summer to sidestep peak heat and squash vine borer pressure. In the North and Pacific Northwest, hold off until soil warms in late May or June.

Direct-sow seeds one inch deep, spacing plants 24 to 36 inches apart. Many gardeners plant in small hills of two or three seeds, then thin to the strongest seedling once they are up.

Choose a spot with full sun and rich, well-drained soil. Seeds sprout in 7 to 14 days, and a single plant or two is usually plenty to keep a family in zucchini all summer.

Give zucchini a steady 1 to 2 inches of water each week, aiming at the soil rather than the leaves to keep foliage dry and disease down. Even moisture also prevents the tip rot that comes from feast-or-famine watering.

Plants stay bushy at 2 to 3 feet and grow fast. A layer of mulch holds moisture and blocks weeds, and a boost of compost or balanced feed midseason keeps the harvest coming.

A few good neighbors help zucchini set more fruit and keep pests guessing. Plant them nearby and add any of them in one click:

Zucchini is ready roughly 55 to 60 days from sowing. Pick fruit young, at about 6 to 8 inches long, when the skin is glossy and gives slightly to a fingernail.

Check plants daily at peak season, because zucchini grows fast and a missed fruit turns into a tough marrow. Frequent picking signals the plant to keep setting new fruit.

Zucchini is one of the most versatile things you can grow. Saute or grill it, shred it into bread and muffins, or spiralize it into noodles.

It also shines in ratatouille and stuffed dishes, and the male blossoms are wonderful battered and fried. When the glut hits, grate and freeze extra for winter baking.

• Squash vine borer: sudden wilting from a larva tunneling in the stem; mound soil over the base and remove borers by hand.
• Squash bugs: gray insects that suck sap and weaken plants; crush the bronze egg clusters on leaf undersides.
• Powdery mildew: white patches on leaves in humid spells; water at the soil and space plants for airflow.
• Blossom-end rot: sunken brown fruit tips from uneven watering; keep soil evenly moist.
• Blossoms but no fruit: usually poor pollination or the early male-only flowers; invite bees or hand-pollinate.