We all love zucchini. If we let it, it would become a huge plant that takes up a lot of space. Though this is a vine variety(black beauty)I train my up to grow vertically. I’ve been doing this for years and the greatest part is that it takes up only 1 square foot. Last I counted, I’ve got 3 black beauty plants growing-one right next to a different kind of squash. I might have made a mistake on that one, we’ll have to wait and see. We’ve been able to harvest about half a dozen zucchini’s so far and it’s just now starting to really produce. I think they taste better when they are smaller so I pull mine when they are about 8 inches long. If you look close enough you’ll be able to see a zucchini sticking straight up in the air. This particular plant is growing up on a green t-post, but other squashes and zucchini are growing up on all kinds of things-from electrical conduit to PVC. It all works…
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At what point do you start to tie the plant? Our stalk isn’t high at all but the side shoots are about a foot from centre. Not sure I can attach a photo. Thanks for the post! I love the concept.
I start to tie the stem to the t-post as soon as it looks like its going to begin falling over. The t-post that I use for zucchini is only 5 feet tall. By the time I pound it in the ground it’s only 4 feet tall-perfect for your zucchini plant.
Great! Thank you. I think it may soon be time. And once a fruit comes it’s an idea to cut the leaves below it to reduce the weight on the stalk? Thanks and have a great day! Love this blog!
Deb-as you harvest zucchini you will notice that the fruit starts at the bottom and works its way up to the top of the plant. When I’m sure there wont be any more zucchini on the lower part of the plant I begin to cut the leaves away. It’s not really an issue of reducing the weight on the stalk as the t-post is plenty strong enough to hold all of it. The leaves start to look rather frazzled at some point and that is when I begin to cut them back. I’ll try to take more pictures of it during this growing season. Sometimes I just forget. Glad you enjoy the blog.
Do you have a far away picture of this along with tips on how to do it? This is my 2nd year doing square foot gardening in a raised bed and last year my zucchini and summer squash practically took over the garden covering 3-4 sq ft each! Please help me tame these wild (but delicious) beasts!
I think there is one in my photo gallery, isn’t there? Why do you want a far away picture instead of a close up picture? I can tell you from first hand experience and after doing it for over a decade, you can definitely plant zucchini in 1 square. You’ll need a green t-post that costs about $4. You’ll then need some velcro to tie it up to the t-post. About every 8″ you’ll use the velcro to fasten the stem to the t-post. They only get to be about 4′ tall. It works perfectly. I’ll plant 2 zucchini plants but will off-set them. My first one goes in right about now, and then I’ll start another one in about 4 weeks. That way when the 1st one starts to slow down I’ve got another one almost ready to go like crazy.
I’d like a far away one because I’m thinking of doing this on an old gas lamp post in our front yard. I want to be sure it looks good before I do because we’ve got some cranky neighbors who will call the city on us in a heartbeat if they think we’re turning the front yard into a garden. The leaves and flowers should be big and showy enough to look ornamental but I’d like to see how it looks overall.