Hello!
I grew yellow squash and zucchini last year. The plants and squash got huge, but didn't taste great. I want a yellow squash, probably crook-neck that tastes like the yellow squash I can buy at the grocery store...ideally the squash would be small...any suggestions? We get extreme heat, but I don't know if that matters, because I had decent production last year...I want lots of little yummy squash! Thanks for any and all help!!
What is the best-tasting yellow squash? (extreme heat)
You need to pick them when they are small. Baby veggies definitely taste much better. I pick them at about 4-6" long. Very tender. The more you pick the more the plant will bear.
I grow the yellow squash, 'Early Prolific Straightneck', and pick squash when they are about 6 inches long. You definately want to pick before the seeds start to get large and firm.
Agree, summer squash should be picked small. only a couple of days past blooming. The old open pollinated warted Summer Crookneck possibly has the most flavor. The hybrids Horn of Plenty, Medallion, and Supersett comes close in flavor and are much more productive. The OP Early Prolific Straightneck is the best of the straightnecks. Many of the straightnecks are tasteless, Saffron being a prime example.
Thanks guys, I just ordered seeds for some of the varieties you have mentioned. I am pretty sure the squash I grew last year were yellow zucchini? Now, last year I would wait until the squash was yellow before picking it, but by then they were huge! Will these crookneck varieties be small and yellow? Is there any way to encourage the fruit to set at different rates? Last year all the plants bloomed at the same time and the fruit ripened at the same time....is that just the bane of squash farmers? My peppers and eggplants seem more staggered. As you can see, I am very new to this!!
Stagger your squash plantings. I use Black Knight zucchini.........one is usually plenty...........LOL Also plant some radishes in and among your squash seedlings. They'll help draw off any beetles and pests. When the radishes are damages destroy them and plant some more. ;)
I planted Gold Rush Hybrid zucchini last year, and it was yellow from the git-go, even in the bud stage. In the very hot weather it did tend to revert to light green, however.
The crooknecks tend to grown in flushes. They will set 5 -6 squash, when you pick them 5-6 more. They will slow down, but usually you can pick squash twice a week for about 6 weeks.
Medallion, which is one of the larger crooknecks, ready to pick.
Zephyr is a two-tone yellow/green hybrid summer squash that has done well here for the last two seasons. My family prefers it to regular yellow straight neck and crook neck.
Here's some of the Early Prolific Straight-neck squash, floured and fried. The plate is a normal sized dinner plate, so you can see the squash is about 6 inches or so.
This is more of the Early Prolific Straight-neck squash that I pickled, using a bread-and-butter pickle receipe that was my mom's. When picked small, they stay crisp and make great sweet pickles.
Love this thread! I'm in the same AZ boat as Shannon and I want some squash this year. Last year I planted two zucchini thinking that would be plenty, but for some reason it didn't produce squat. I'm going to check to see what seeds I have and maybe order some more.
I have a neighbor who grows zucchini and is always wanting to give it away. I love tender zucchini but he lets it get as big as your arm so it is more like a log than a vegetable. As you can imagine, he does not eat it himself. I feel ashamed to sneak it into the trash when he is not around, but it is not edible at that stage. I have tried telling him that it needs to be small to be good, but forget it--for him, a big vegetable is a good vegetable.
Just to add a flip side point of view.....
We love our yellow squashes at least 10-12" long, with a 3-4" diameter, because the only way we like them is fried as shown above, only in egg & cracker meal. But I have to agree about the seeds getting too tough if they get any bigger than that. I'm also growing the Early Prolific Straight Neck yellow this year.
On the BIG zucchinis, our most favorite way of eating it is the way Mom does it. She cubes the zucchini, then adds tomatoes, onions, green peppers, garlic & seasonings, & makes a kind of ratatouille.
I grew a 'Buckingham' bush zucchini last year. Handsome squash but didn't produce much either. I think it was heat and drought that did it. I normally don't care for the crooknecks but this yellow zucchini tasted great.
Ratatouille and fried zuccs sounds awesome! Pickles too. Don't forget zucchini bread...
fiddle- yours look pretty cool... where did you get them from? I would like to try them.
Johnny's has the Zephyr summer squash.
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/product.aspx?item=2217&source=DG
Zucchini does have a way of getting out of hand size-wise. However, there are lots of ways to cook it so it's good. My mom used to slice it in about 2" slices, scooped out the seeds, and then stuffed the slices like bell peppers, and baked. Very, very good.
Karen
You can cut a too-big zucchini lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, stuff the cavity and bake it.
Thx fiddle!
What do you guys stuff them with?
My mom stuffed them like bell peppers or cabbage leaves - ground meat, cooked rice, seasonings, with a seasoned tomato sauce over top, then baked them. Lengthwise, would work, too. They are delicious.
Karen
Sounds wonderful, Karen!
Chopped veggies, herbs and breadcrumbs.
My family can't get enough deep fried zucs with just salt and pepper and a thin batter. I split lengthwise and cut in chunks about 1 1/4". They're done when just light golden.
My all time favorite is: chunks, cut side down in a little olive oil. Just when they start to brown, top with a whole coarse chopped onion, salt, pepper, oregano and chopped fresh tomato in that order. Don't stir, simmer til just tender and juice thickens some.
Two very different ways to pig out.
Well, now, see.... I wasn't going to grow any zucchini this year, but after reading all these great sounding ways to eat it, I'm going to have to! lol
Woo- got more than I asked for... thanks guys! I have been sauteing and grilling them. I like it that way but can always go for something different.
I never would have thought of scooping out the seeds and using the shell to bake in. That's a good idea.
Remember that the shell is not just for baking in -- it's good to eat as well. I love zucchini. Is there a bad way to fix them? Never found one yet.
Karen
With the "forgotten" ones I found at about baseball bat size, well, Chocolate Zucchini Bread is a possibility....
I just thawed my last chunk from last year, and can't wait for more...
I also have a zucchini bread recipe that has pineapple in it. YUM! This year I'm goona add coconut, too. No-one ever catches on to the zucchini part unless I tell, I shred it very finely. Gonna try it on the SO's grandkids, and see how it goes :)
Oh, zucchini bread is great use for the large ones. Used to make it with spices and chopped nuts. Chocolate zucchini bread is wonderful!
Karen
Zucchini bread is indeed a good idea! Hadn't thought of that either.
I'm with Farmerdill. the only yellow squash that I grow is the OP Summer Crookneck. Yep, they get big and warty if you don't keep them picked, but so do all the rest.
The OP Summer Crookneck just tastes 'squashier'. Hybrid varieties have a much blander taste.
Ah, ha. So hybrids are more bland. That must be why the yellow squash in the market tastes so blah. I will look for the OP Summer Crookneck.
Thanks,
Karen
You ought to find them in any seed rack at any big box store. They're common and cheap. (sometimes new and expensive isn't necessarily the best)
Wow, I can't believe all the great advice and ideas from this thread! I can't wait to try it all!
Hey Shannonaz; Add your address to the exchange and I'll send some seed. I have a cultivar called Confederate Gold which is no longer on the market. It has a great crookneck taste. The plant produces multiple growing tips which are all loaded with male and female flowers all season long.Unbelievably productive. I have no idea why Harris Moran dropped this, but they dropped several great OP squashes at the same time.
Back with another question: Is anyone growing squash in containers? I have a couple of tubs that are really big and wonder if I could plant some squash there.
Alma
I have grown squash in containers, and it does just as well as in the ground if not better.