vertical Zuchini

iessac 1/4/2013, 5:44 pm

I love zuchinin and last year was my first year to ever plant a garden - my zuchini were wonderful until around mid July then squash bugs took over and it all just fell apart -

I want to do the SFG thing this year and have been reading the book - somewhere - I either read or saw that - doing vertical zuchini would cut down on squash bug problems - any helpful ideas on where to look or how that works?

My husband and I want to build and plant 8 to 10 boxes this summer - if we can swing it -But we are new to this and we tend to bite off mor than we can chew.

Pollinator 1/5/2013, 12:16 am

That won't make a bit of difference - and it would be hard to make them go vertical anyway, since zukes are not vining types.

I've had complete control of squash bugs by using a repellent - dwarf French marigolds. Works for cucumber beetles as well. Plant them among your veggies.

These will also help build your pollinator populations - something that's badly needed in many areas.

I have offered seed for a SASE to the members of this forum. Send a Personal Message to me if you want some.

**camprn** 1/5/2013, 7:44 am

I gotta get me some of these dwarf french marigolds! Very Happy

Good for the squash and I suppose good for the bees.

peter.burke.56884 1/5/2013, 9:28 am

I plant an Italian variety the grows up a trellis very well. Tomboncino Ramicante. If you Google Trombone Zucchini you find seeds. This is very hardy and fast growing I started using it about 6 years ago and it is a regular for my garden. It has a slight bulb at the end thus the Trombone name. Plant only one per square on the trellis. Like Tomatoes. At the end of the Season you can harvest the huge flowers for salads, stir fry or deep fry in batter. Yum.

**snibb** 1/6/2013, 12:14 am

You can easily grow zucchini vertically. I've been doing it for years-give it a look:
http://thewealthyearth.com/?p=2953

The Tromboncino variety was a lot of fun to grow-they get to be so big!

Happy New Year to everyone

thegreatcob 1/6/2013, 1:58 am

i can remember where but i remember seeing Mel demonstrate hows to grow vertical zucchini several years ago. not sure if it was in magazine,diagram,or video;
it was bush variety not vining variety such as black beauty zucchini.
Now i remember "Organic Gardening "magazine February 1996. page 26.
the article was called "Ten new square secrets.

February 1996. page 26.

cheyannarach 1/6/2013, 3:36 am

$glad you\'re here$ to the forum!! Keep us posted on your progress!!

**camprn** 1/6/2013, 11:21 am

This fella prunes and grows his zucchini up a wooden stake.

GWN 1/7/2013, 12:52 pm

Although the hardest thing about vertical zucchine for me was to get a good picture, here it is. The only thing I did wrong was that I did not start staking it soon enough, it certainly is interesting today looking through my garden pictures to find this one, whilst it has been snowing for weeks, and my garden is under at least 3 feet of snow Smile

zucchini video - vertical Zuchini Dsc_0210

Lemonie 1/9/2013, 11:50 am

[quote="camprn"]This fella prunes and grows his zucchini up a wooden stake.
quote]

Thanks for sharing, I really needed to see that! I actually thought that cutting away the leaves on your squash plants made them more susceptible to disease and pests getting in....but it seems to be working great for him. Might need to give this a try this season.

Nonna.PapaVino 1/10/2013, 3:27 pm

Another recommendation for Italian tromboncino squash: that bulbuous end is where the seeds are clustered, so, if you cut off the bulb and cook the shaft, it doesn't "dissolve" into a soft mush like zuchinni. It also makes a lovely salad item when shaved into thin strips with a potato peeler, and dressed with homemade oil/vinegar/herb/garlic dressing. These strips also are good flash sauted and served with an olive oil/herb/parmesan-type pasta sauce as a side for grilled chicken breast. Left on the vine too long, and it becomes a winter squash. Because of its versatility, we haven't planted regular zuchinni for several years now (but will this year just see if we're missing anything). Nonna

1airdoc 1/10/2013, 3:55 pm

Do other varieties of marigolds work to repel the squash bugs and cucumber beetles? They have devastated my crops for the last 2 years.

Hoggar 1/10/2013, 4:02 pm

I tried trellising my Zucchini and Summer squash to late last year and didn't get to see if it was going to work as the cold hit shortly after I tied every thing up, but it wasn't hard to get things on to stakes and I intend to do it from the beginning this season.

GWN 1/10/2013, 8:25 pm

It also makes a lovely salad item when shaved into thin strips with a potato peeler, and dressed with homemade oil/vinegar/herb/garlic dressing. These strips also are good flash sauted and served with an olive oil/herb/parmesan-type pasta sauce as a side for grilled chicken breast. Left on the vine too long, and it becomes a winter squash. Because of its versatility, we haven't planted regular zuchinni for several years now (but will this year just see if we're missing anything). Nonna

NONNA I bought seeds this tear for thrombocinni because you suggested it, however i had forgotten why...so thanks for the reminder Smile

bwaynef 1/10/2013, 9:25 pm

Nonna.PapaVino wrote:Another recommendation for Italian tromboncino squash:...so, if you cut off the bulb and cook the shaft, it doesn't "dissolve" into a soft mush like zuchinni. It also makes a lovely salad item when shaved into thin strips... These strips also are good flash sauted... Left on the vine too long, and it becomes a winter squash. Because of its versatility, ...

You certainly make a strong case for it. All of the above sounds wonderful. I'll be updating my wishlist now! I'll probably have to wait 'til 2014 though.

Nonna.PapaVino 1/10/2013, 9:34 pm

Tromboncini can get rather heavy, so be prepared with some serious trellising, like cattle panels. Nonna

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