Have you noticed how expensive 'zucchini' is in the stores..

I needed some zucchini for recipe and found that the price in Krogers was $3.99 a pound..??.. For Z-U-C-H-I-N-I --??-- I realize it's a little early for 'summer squash' -- but I've never seen it that expensive before. Can't wait till I can get my own plants going.

Yep, it's been the same price around here. I almost couldn't believe it when I saw it! I hate to admit it, but I did buy some---it's one of my favorite vegetables. I'll have to hope for a bumper crop this year.

Yea... we eat zucchini year round so I've paid the high prices. I usually freeze some when I grow it. I won't have my normal garden this year... but I'll have to at least plant some zucchini because of these prices.

Funny you mention that. I heard a couple of farmers around here, one of whom planted 40 acres of zucchini this year, complaining that the price is in the gutter for squash right now. They both are holding off on picking, even though the first of the crop has reached maturity, because the price is so low. The one with zucchini said he can only get $10 for a 1/2 bushel box(25lbs?) and a $1.25 of that goes to the box alone.

Hey Waterfowler.... I see that you're out in CA -- I'm not sure where Kroger's was getting their zucchini from. Generally speaking, I think CA has more reasonably priced produce.... at least when I lived there.

So, the upcharge is by the store, not the growers?

Substitute "store" with "corporations" and that wouldn't surprise me a bit, Gymgirl. [grumble, mumble, grumble]

Hey, Girl!
Let's see some pictures of your garden!

I work in a Produce Dept,and when we had all that freezing weather a few months back i heard that alot of crops were destroyed by the freeze,the main crops that were destroyed were,green beans,zucchini,cucumbers,eggplant,i noticed the prices jumped to more than double after that hard freeze,they said until the next crops were harvested the prices would not go down.well all the florida veggies are now coming in and the prices have finally dropped significantly,soi guess the freezes do make a difference on pricing

If you can get there, a trip to your local farmer's market will save you a ton of money and will not be of any lesser quality. Grab a few friends and split the gas and make it a fun trip. That's what we do.

Freezes, inflation, playing the commodities market - all have an impact on the ever escalating fresh food prices, especially if it's "not in season" locally. All this points to growing your own (if you can) and buying from your local farmers markets to help keep them going - at least you know how it was grown and where it comes from.
I even heard canning is growing in popularity! I have my stock of jars ready...
Buster

Jannz : Do you cook the zuchinni before you freeze it .

Hi Behillman,

I did a quick 'hot steam' on the ones I froze - like maybe 2mins or so. I then sealed them in a 'Food Saver' bag. They were OK for the soups and casserole type dishes that I used them for.