How to Grow a Zucchini Plant or Other Summer Squash

Zucchini is a prolific producer, making it a great plant to grow for anyone who loves sharing their harvest. After all, he who grows zucchini needs more friends!

You can hit a home run with your squash plants this season by using these simple methods to keep the plants healthier and producing more. Learn how to grow a zucchini plant, including planting from seed, watering, fertilizing, pruning, staking, and pest prevention.

This guide is about planting and growing zucchini; however, the same information applies to growing other summer squash as well! 

Making the Most of Your Harvest From Garden to Table

The mission behind this series of complete organic growing guides is to remove the mystery and guesswork from gardening by breaking down traditional gardening methods, keeping what works, discarding what doesn’t, and debunking common myths!

Check out more blog posts from this series, like when to harvest zucchini, how to grow pumpkins and winter squash, when to harvest pumpkins, and how to prevent squash vine borers.

Let’s grow bigger, together!

Popular Types of Zucchini Plants

Did you know that zucchini is a type of summer squash? Summer squash is unique from winter squash varieties and easily identified by its thin, edible skin, like that of a zucchini. Also, zucchini and other summer squash are, for the most part, bush varieties.

There are lots of zucchini varieties you can enjoy in your home garden. My favorites include the Black Beauty Zucchini, Italian Striped Zucchini, Bianco Di Trieste Zucchini, Grey Zucchini, Golden Zucchini, and Round Zucchini.

Importance of Biodiversity

Every growing season is unique, and each variety has strengths and weaknesses that help it cope differently. Planting 2 or 3 different varieties of summer squash will help you overcome the adversities that come with changes in weather and seasons.

After all, biodiversity is the spice of life! Planting lots of variety in the garden will help keep your plants healthier!

For example, golden zucchini is way more resistant to disease and powdery mildew, but it fails to produce well in cooler weather. The Black Beauty zucchini doesn’t have the same disease resistance but produces well in cooler weather. Planting both varieties helps ensure a prolonged, good summer squash harvest, no matter what the season brings.

When to Plant Zucchini

Zucchini is usually planted in late spring. If you are direct sowing seeds, wait until after the last spring frost when the temperature is at least 60°F (15°C). In Michigan, that means zucchini is something I plant in May.

But, fast growing summer crops, like summer squash, can also be started indoors about 3-5 weeks before your last estimated frost date. This allows you to get a head start. (Clyde’s Garden Planner is a great tool to help you properly time all your seed starting.)

Pro-Tip: Don’t start them too early or they will be too advanced and stressed before you get them in the garden. For more information on when to start seeds indoors, here is a list of the fast growing summer crops that I start in April.)

Don’t forget that you can succession sow a fall harvest of zucchini or summer squash, too! To time a fall planting, take the number of days that the plant will take to mature and produce fruit, and count backward that many days from your first fall frost date.

For example, the first frost date where I live is around the first or second week of October. A Black Beauty zucchini matures in 50-55 days or around 8 weeks. I counted backward 8 weeks plus 2 more for good measure, which put me at the first week of August for my planting date.

By September, I was harvesting lots of fruit, and the plants continued to grow. You may be surprised to learn that the squash I planted for the fall garden are healthier, more vigorous, and less stressed than the squash that were in the garden all summer long. That is partly due to the cooler nights of the late season and diminished pest pressure that time of year.

How to Plant Zucchini for Best Results

The style of gardening you choose will determine whether or not you should plant your squash in mounds. Growing in raised garden beds and using drip irrigation both negate the need for mounds. Watch this video to learn when and why to plant squash in mounds.

Follow these steps when planting zucchini or other summer squash:

1.  Choose a Location  - Choose a garden location that gets full sunlight, around 9 hours a day. When planning your garden, ensure other plants will not shade your summer squash.

2.  Check Soil pH - It is a good idea to perform a soil test before planting. The ideal pH for summer squash is 6.0 to 7.0.

3.  Amend the Soil  - Squash enjoys well-draining soil and is a heavy feeder. Before planting, amend the soil with finished compost. If you are planting in heavy clay soil, mix in even amounts of sand and compost. 

4.  Apply Fertilizer  - Apply a high-quality all-purpose fertilizer like Trifecta+ at the time of planting. Spread the fertilizer around the base of the plant, water it in well, and you’re good to go.  Pro-Tip: Come early to mid-August, if your plants are still disease-free but slowing down on production, it's a good idea to apply a second round of fertilizer at that time.

5.  Plant Spacing - I like to give each plant about 2 feet of space so the full-grown plants don’t shade each other or compete for space. (Plant 4 plants in 16 square feet.) Good spacing also creates better airflow to help prevent powdery mildew!

6.  Planting Depth  - Plant summer squash seeds ½ inch deep.

7.  Watering  - I recommend using drip irrigation to water summer squash to reduce splash on the leaves. Whichever watering technique you use, water deeply and allow the top of the soil to dry out between waterings. Overwatering creates consistently wet soil around the base, which can lead to root rot and powdery mildew. 

How to Grow a Zucchini Plant

To get the most out of your plant, remember to harvest early and often. This will signal the plant to continue producing.

Zucchini is famous for growing BIG. If you ignore your plants for a few days, you might find some baseball bat-sized zucchini!

Squash plants are probably the most prone to getting powdery mildew. Be proactive by regularly spraying your plants for powdery mildew.

I spray my zucchini plants with a solution of water, baking soda and dish soap each week during the peak season. Doing this significantly extends the life of those plants.

Essential Summer Squash Care: Pruning & Staking

Pruning is essential for keeping your summer squash plants healthier. Yes, you read that right—you can prune your summer squash and zucchini plants to help keep them disease-free!

Pruning is a great way to remove diseased leaves, allow good air circulation, and open up the flowers so the pollinators can find them. Pro-Tip: People express concern about bugs getting into the hollow stems of the squash plant after pruning. You don’t have to worry about that because the stem will dry and close up after a couple of days.

I recommend pruning off the older, more stressed, diseased, and closer to the soil leaves. Prune off the leaves by snipping the stem off at its base, or at the bottom of the leaf just above the end of the stem.

Leaving squash to grow on the ground is the traditional growing method. The goal of staking is to stand the squash plant upright using a tomato cage or sturdy stake.

Just like pruning, staking helps prevent disease and increases the life of the plant. Squash plants will just last a lot longer off the ground.

When growing zucchini, either you are having the time of your life or you are on the struggle bus. If you are struggling to grow zucchini successfully, you are likely experiencing one of the issues in the chart below.

This table will help you determine the cause and the best solution for your plants.

Pro-Tip: Blossom end rot can affect more than just zucchini and summer squash. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, watermelon, and pumpkins can also get BER. Use this guide to prevent blossom end rot in your garden.

After enjoying your favorite zucchini bread and roasted vegetable recipes, try these non-boring zucchini recipes. And don’t forget to preserve some zucchini for the winter season!