When to plant: Between September-January in temperate climates, July-March in the subtropics and October-December in cold climates.
How to plant:
From seedlings:
Sow 2cm deep in garden in SeptSoil temp above 15’C
Germinate 3-5 days
Keep warm and dry to prevent fungal infection.
Zucchini prefer a sheltered position in full sun and a fertile soil that holds plenty of moisture. They are reasonably large plants, so need plenty of room. Space them up to 1m apart.
Care: Zucchini need plenty of water, keep water off the foliage to reduce problems with powdery mildew. Keep the soil constantly moist by watering around the plants. Once the first fruit starts to swell, feed every 10-14 days with a high potash liquid fertiliser.
Harvest in 60-70 days
Troubleshooting:
• Powdery mildew on zucchini is a common problem. This is a fungal disease that appears as a white powdery deposit on the leaves, stunting growth and causing leaves to shrivel.
- Dig organic material into the soil before planting to improve soil moisture retention.
- Space planting mounds at least 1m apart when planting to ensure good air circulation.
- Remove any affected growth promptly.
- Water regularly in dry periods.
• Yellow zucchini leaves: Older zucchini leaves often turn yellow and drop off the plant. This is not a cause for concern as they will be replaced by new growth, check however for Cucumber mosaic virus.
• Cucumber mosaic virus: Zucchini leaves turning yellow can be due to cucumber mosaic virus. This causes deformed, stunted leaves with a characteristic 'mosaic' yellow patterning. Affected plants produce few or no flowers, and any fruit that develop are small and inedible.
- Remove and destroy affected plants promptly.
- Wash hands and tools after handling affected plants.
- Plant disease-resistant varieties.
- No chemical controls are available.
• Grey mould/ Bortrytis mould: a fungal disease that appears as powdery grey mould at the stalk of zucchini, gradually covering the whole fruit, which then rots.
- Remove any affected fruit promptly.
- Space plants well when planting to allow good air circulation.
- There are no chemical controls available for grey mould.
• Zucchini rotting when small or not setting: Zucchini fruits can appear to start swelling but then rot or drop off the plant while still small. This occurs when the flowers are not pollinated, and is usually more of a problem early in the season. If the problem persists, hand-pollinate flowers using a small paintbrush.
• Slugs and snails: will eat the leaves of young zucchini plants, and can be identified by the slime trails that they leave, as well as the damage they do.- Check plants at night and remove slugs and snails by hand.
- Covering the soil around plants with copper tape, crushed eggshells or grit may have some effect.
- Scatter snail and slug pellets if other methods are not adequate.
Varieties
Black Beauty - Blackjack
Cocozelle Golden (yellow fruit)
Greyzine (pale colour)
Long Florence
TromboncinoSolar Flare (golden)
When to plant: between September and January in temperate climates, between July and March in the subtropics and October and December in cold climates.
How to plant:
Start the seedlings
- Fill 9cm pots with seed raising mix.
- Using the dibber (or a pencil), make a hole 2.5cm deep in the centre of the pot.
- Sow one seed per pot, placing it in the hole on edge rather than flat. This reduces the risk of the seed rotting.
- Cover with mix and water well.They can be planted out into the garden when they are sturdy enough to be handled and when soil and weather conditions are conducive to good growth. You want to be sure the temperature won’t drop below 12-15°C and choose a warm, sunny, sheltered spot.Harden the seedlings off for a week first by placing them outside in their pots during the day and giving them some protection at night.
Depth & space:
When sowing cucumber seeds directly into the garden, sow 2.5cm deep.
Germinate 6-7 days then feed with sulphate of potash.
How to pollinate:
Cucumbers (like squash and zucchinis) produce separate male and female flowers. It’s easy to tell the male flowers from the female because the male flowers are on thin stems, while the stems of female flowers look like tiny cucumbers (which is what they will develop into).
Some cucumber plants have been bred to produce only female flowers, and these are called all-female plants. Other cucumbers produce both male and female flowers on the same plant.In the garden veggie patch, cucumbers produce both male and female flowers on the same plant. They need to be pollinated in order to produce fruit. Don’t remove any flowers from the plants, just let the pollinating insects do their thing.
Care: Water regularly, keeping the soil moist but not wet. To reduce the risk of fungal disease, keep the leaves of the plants dry. Once flowers appear, feed the plants monthly with seaweed & organic pellets. Pinch out the new leaves at the tips of growing shoots when the main stem has produced seven leaves to encourage the plants to put all their energy into producing fruit rather than foliage. Pinch out any flowerless side shoots once they have produced seven leaves.
Mulch & water early morning 2-3 / week as roots are shallow & prevent fungal infection from splash.
Troubleshooting:
• Powdery mildew: is a common disease of cucumbers. This is a fungal disease that appears as a white powdery deposit on cucumber leaves, stunting growth and causing leaves to shrivel.
- Dig organic material into the soil before planting to improve soil moisture retention
- Space plants widely when planting to ensure good air circulation
- Remove any affected growth promptly
- Water regularly in dry periods
• Cucumber mosaic virus: can cause yellow leaves on cucumber plants, with a characteristic ‘mosaic’ patterning. Affected plants produce few or no flowers, and any cucumbers that develop are small and inedible.
- Remove and destroy affected plants promptly
- Wash hands and tools after handling affected plants
- Plant disease – resistant varieties
- No chemical controls are available
• Cucumber plants wilting: If cucumber plants start to wilt suddenly despite normal watering, this may be due to sudden changes in temperature such as a strong cool change or an exceptionally hot day. Don’t water wilted plants unless the soil is dry as this could cause root rot
Harvest in 60-70 days
Varieties
There are three main varieties of cucumber grown in Australia.
- Lebanese – the most popular; generally smooth skinned and seedless
- Continental – the longest type with fruit up to 40cm in length
- Apple – rounded, usually white skinned although there are some green varieties and very crunchy
When to plant: September to February
How to plant:
Start the seedlings
Sow 2cm deep in garden in Sept
Soil temp above 15’C
Germinate 3-5 days
Keep warm and dry to prevent fungal infection
Direct into soil:
Choose a full sun position with a free draining soil
Direct sow squash seeds into prepared soil, allowing 80-100cm between plants - once the risk of frost has passed and the soil has warmed up. Planting them 10-12mm deep and allowing 80-100cm between each seed.
Keep the soil moist, but not soggy while the seeds germinate - which will take 6-10 days.
Care: Choose a full sun spot with a free draining soil for squash or grow in raised beds or large trough planters.
Harvest in 60-70 days. These petite squash are best eaten when no larger than the palm of your hand.
Harvest using a sharp knife to cut the stalk that attaches them to the plant. Unlike pumpkins and tougher skinned relatives patty pan squash don’t store well - so they are best picked and eaten the same day.
Troubleshooting:
• Slugs and Snails will cause significant damage to squash seedlings and even young fruit. Protect your crop by setting beer traps (saucers filled with beer) or use snail & slug pellets. To reduce the risk of powdery mildew and other fungal diseases on the foliage - avoid overhead watering.
Varieties
There are many varieties of squash, we typically grow the patty pan yellow squash.