There’s always lots of discussion about zucchini being able to be grown in the square foot garden-most notably in only 1 square foot. I’ve grown it this way for years because I didn’t like the way zucchini(and other squash)can take over so much of the garden. I’ve changed my methods though and for the most part it looks like it might work. I used to use a jump-rope to tie the zucchini stem up to the t-post. But this year I’ve used Velcro-which as you can see, appears to be holding things up and together pretty well. This was about 2 weeks ago so the plant is bigger now, and I’m getting at least one zucchini every other day. In about another week, I think I will be getting one per day. I like to pick them when they taste the best-about 8 inches. The other day we had a kind neighbor deliver us a zucchini that was about 2 1/2 feet long. They simply don’t taste as good as the smaller ones. As you Velcro up your zucchini, do it at intervals that keep the stem vertical without any drooping. This will reward you with a zucchini plant that is neat, tidy, and only takes up 1 square foot of space. Your zucchini will be growing vertically as you can see in the picture. It’s always fun to watch people as they see zucchini being grown this way. Then we go to another spot in the garden where the real big squash-banana-is starting to grow. It’s about 6 feet in the air right now and it will be a while before all of those are ready. Right now they’re just back there gaining weight! It’s been a great summer for our square foot gardens. In another few days I will be posting about something that you’ll need to start thinking about if you want a fall garden.[ois skin=”below post”]z
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Hi, I have a fence to grow on, but no t-posts, can I use this method or is there something else I can do? I don’t want the zucchinis to take up all of my space.
I don’t know what your fence looks like so Im unable to comment. I’ve only successfully grown on T-posts or EMT conduit.
Do you recommend trimming any leaves? I tried this last year and gave up, it became confusing to me and I was getting pricked by all the chaos! I want to try again this year. I think I also went wrong because my climbing fence doesn’t start until about 5 inches from the ground.
I only trim leaves that are turning brown and that begins at the bottom of the plant first. As the pictures shows, I grow mine on 5′ green t-posts which have worked marvelously for 12 years.
I end up trimming the bottom leaves once fruit has been harvest. I make sure not to trim above the level where zucchini will still be coming on.
Can I use a bamboo pole for this? And would it work for cucumbers/tomatos as well? How about butternut squash?
Lindsay, though I’ve never used bamboo poles for zucchini, I think it would probably work. It has to be anchored to the ground firmly though because as you know, zucchini plants gets pretty heavy after a while. Bamboo-if anchored firmly, will support your tomato plants. I’ve got an in-law who did that successfully last year. You just have to find the ones that are 8′ tall and then pound them a foot in to the ground. It won’t be strong enough for butternut squash. At the end of the summer, I’ll have 40-50 pounds of butternut hanging 7 feet in the air and that bamboo just won’t cut it. You’ll need this electrical conduit stuff. It will last you forever. Hope that helps…Jim
Just curious as to how early you started tying the zucchini into the vertical position?
As soon as it starts to lay down I tie it up. That’s the guide for me. Then I go about every 8″ or so.