Zucchini or Crookneck for a limited space

I have very little space to garden for vegies..namely because I have flowers everywhere !! lol What I do want to grow this year are lots of different tomatoes, and a good squash. These are two things I eat alot of. I use the squash alot in stir frys more than anything. So, for a limited space, is there a crookneck or a Zucchini that is more of a bush variety and does not run so much ?

Thanks !

Cheryl

From Harris Seeds is a yellow squash called Multi-pic. It is a bush, but still gets big. Produces like crazy. Plant 2 or 3 seeds in s hill. One hill should give you all you need. Must keep them picked though, or they stop.
Good Luck!
ßernie

I like the old OP standby, Summer Yellow Crookneck,great squashy flavor on a compact bush.You have to keep them picked just like any other squash,but as Brook will attest,even the larger ones have a wonderful flavor.

I gave him and Barb some last summer when they were here, and some were pretty good sized and had started to get 'warts'.What I do is cut them into quarters longways and cut off the center pithy white with the seeds.I _like_ the outsides with a little firmness.They hold up well in stir fry and make the best squash casserole.

Im my opinion,the crookneck has a more intense flavor than the straightnecks(if any squash could be called intense..LOL)

Only thing wrong with Melody's crooknecks is that she doesn't send me enough of them!

I'd have to agree with Melody's assessment re: depth of flavor. The old fashioned crooknecks have it all over the straightnecks.

Cherl: There are vining types of summer squash that you can grow on a trellis of some sort. Doesn't take up much space that way, and you expand your choices.

I particular like growing the Asian hairy gourds this way. Hairy gourds have the best flavor of all, to my taste. Think of them as a zucchini with an attitude.

Cheryl: I grow my zukes in pots because my summers are chilly and the pots can be situated against the south greehouse wall (outside). Of course, my zukes don't get big like you lucky guys in the warmer climes, but they do quite nicely. One of my favorites is from Burpee called 'Sweet Zuke'. It is, however, a hybrid.

Brook where would I look for those 'hairy Asians'?

Any of the Asian seed suppliers has it.

Try Kitazawa Seed Co. at www.kitazawaseed.com, or Everygreen Y.H. Enterprises at www.evergreenseeds.com.

Of the two I've had better service from Kitazawa.

When searching for it it can appear under any of the following names: Hairy Melon, Fuzzy Melon, Hairy Gourd, Fuzzy Gourd, Hairy Cucumber, Mao Gua or Jointed Gourd.

When you grow them they'll look like fat zucchini covered with fuzz. You can merely scrub off the fuzz or peel the fruit.

Brook, do you happen to know if they require a longer maturity time than zukes? We have a short season here.

I grew them for the first time last year, so have no real feel for it. We had unusual heat, which effected all the cucurbits. So we didn't see female flowers and fruit set until late---like the end of August. Once they started setting, though, they were like zukes---they didn't quit until frost killed the plants.

I'm hoping to grow them again this year (depends on space), and should have a better fix in the fall.

Thanks, Brook. Heat is certainly not the issue here, but late onset of fruit certainly is. Zukes are marginal here, but quite a treat. While most people grow so many they can't give them away, I'm thrilled with three or four zukes per plant! I start my zukes in tall cups indoors 6 weeks before the last frost in order to give them a head start. I'll check around for the fuzzy guys... do you have a botanical name for them?

Sure thing, Weez. They're Benincase hispida var. chieh-gua.

The varietal name is important because you don't want to confuse them with Wax Gourds, which are different.

Thanks 'a bushel and a peck', Brook!

Hey thanks everyone for all this advice. I've decided to try some in large pots so they won't take over everything. It's just me and two kids, and they won't eat them so I don't need alot anyway. You guys are fountains of knowledge I appreciate it !

Cheryl

I'm confused, but that sometimes happens.LOL

Brook, I don't know of any true vining summer squash. You immediately say a hairy gourd, and yes, I've grown those, but gourds aren't in the same genus as squash are, so they aren't
t squash. All gourds have white blossoms and squash have yellow blossoms.

Actually the so called substitute zuke seed that was given to me by an Italian friend turned out to be a gourd and promptly left the garden area, went across the lawn and climbed a Maple tree. LOL

And I think I'd go further than saying that it has an attitude re taste. LOL Now Carm told me to pick them at no longer than 6 inches and to stuff them becasue even his Italian extended family won't eat them as prepared like real zukes, but I just couldn't eat those things, even stuffed. LOL

And I guess I'm the odd one out when it comes to yellow summer squash. I grew up on a farm where all we had to grow was the old fashioned yellow crookneck squash, so that's what I was raised on.

But I much prefer the Harris hybrids of Multi-Pik and I can't remember the other one, not just for taste but also for the yellow precocious gene they carry ( first isolated from a gourd by Dr. Oved Schifriss) which masks the greening of the fruits that occurs due to CMV infection. While that CMV infection has nothing to do with eating qualities it does bug some folks.

I think my major problem with the old crooknecks are that one has to pick them ASAP becasue they get overripe so easily and quickly.And my tastebuds just don't see a huge difference in taste.

Actually my fave summer squash is the hybrid Sunburst, a patty pan type. Lucious creamy texture.

Cheryl, I think it's better to stick with the yellow squash varieties since the zukes tend to be much larger bush plants. All true summer squash, including yellow, zukes and patty pan types are bush types; none of them are true vining squash as compared, for instance, to the many winter squash types that do vine. of course one has bush acorns, etc, but most winter squash are true viners.

Carolyn

"I don't know of any true vining summer squash. You immediately say a hairy gourd, and yes, I've grown those, but gourds aren't in the same genus as squash are, so they aren't
t squash."

Maybe not, Carolyn, but we were talking in culinary terms above, not necessarily botanical ones. Once you remove the fuzz from a Hairy Gourd it resembles a zucchini on steroids, or, perhaps, a marrow squash. And among other things, it's perfect in stir fries, which is what SmokyMist was looking for.

To get real technical about it, Benincasa hispida are a separate genus & species altogether, and are no more true gourds than they are true squash.

> All gourds have white blossoms and squash have yellow blossoms.<

Except that the Hairy Gourd have yellow flowers; again showing that they are not really gourds.

This message was edited Friday, Feb 7th 8:12 PM

I'm sure it's my short, cool climate, but I've never had a problem with summer squash taking over a planting area, even when the pots are close to the garden bed. I imagine I would get a bigger yield and more fruit if I planted them in the open ground, but we have no soil to speak of anyway. The pots also allow me to manage the slugs much better, denying them so much cover. Here's a photo of my zukes in August of 2000. They are placed in front of my raised garden bed. As you can see, they are quite well-behaved.

So far, I have tried Black Jack, Butter Stick, Crook Neck, Magda, Starship, Roly Poly, and Sweet Zuke, and none were sprawling in habit here. Of course, they are a marginal crop here, as well.

Weez, what's your feedback on the Magda? (I rec'd some seeds and info on that one and will grow it this yr to try it out.)

Have tried four times to post and only a portion of what I write appears in the preview.

So I'm doing this without cutting and pasting from above, to see if that works.

Brook, thanks for clearing up my confusion. When I see the words "hairy gourd" I'm thinking gourd.(smile) And I thought it was referring to the seeds given to me by my Italian friend for what he called a zuke substitute. But the blossoms were white so it was a true gourd.

Let's see if this posts.

Carolyn

Shoe, I'm not weez, but I love all Lebanese ( Middle Eastern) Cousa types and Magda is one of them.

Pale green, somewhat bulbous shaped, sweet, lovely flesh texture.....you'd love it.

My fave of the Cousa types was offered by Stokes for many years, I can't think of the name now, and then one year it just didn't appear. Had I know I would have made the effort to preserve that variety by hand pollination, but no warning at all.

So often this happens, meaning, a favorite variety just disappears.

But Magda is very close to what the Stokes one was.

Try it, you'll like it.

Carolyn

Hi, Shoe. I had limited success with zukes last year because the season didn't cooperate. I got cut short when the first Magda fruit was getting up to size. However, I like the looks of it enough to try it again this year. I also bought some Stokes seed for Clarita, an F1 hybrid (51 days). They also offer a cousa called 'Ghada'. Are either fo these the ones you grew, Carolyn?

No weez, I haven't grown either of those Stokes Cousas. I do remember, I think, that Ghada was the replacement for the one I liked so much, but Cousa types are readily avialable from several places and there are others that I've also grown and liked well.

No, I don't remember their names right now. LOL Magda would be an example of what most all Cousas would be like although a bit smaller than most.

Carolyn

Well, Carolyn, you've got my mouth watering and it isn't even summer yet! I do love summer squash. The winter squashes are just not a 'happening thing' in my climate, but summer squash hold promise. My favorite is still the Sweet Zuke, so far. It is a squarish sort without a big seed cavity, and the flavor is nutty: http://www.burpee.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=554&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=13&iSubCat=241&iProductID=554&iSubSubCat=241

Carolyn,

I was having the same problem with cut & paste. Go Vols told me to not use the carot marks, because DG's system reads them as an html code. Soon as I took her advice the problem stopped.

Try using quote marks instead of carots and see if that helps.

Thanks for the input on Magda, Carolyn. Now you made me Hongry! And thanks also to you Weez~...let us know how it grows for you up there this year, okay?

Will doooo, Shoooooe!

Hi smokey,

I grow my crooks and even zukes up on a wire trellis. It is also good to build a wooden box on top of your mulched soil and fill it with more soil... The box heats up and I have found that my squash mature earlier. (that was when I lived on the Pac coast) This year I will grow squash up where I am now since I need the room for as many veggies as I can squeeze in my garden. I got this idea many years ago when reading an article about a japaneese gardener that grew everything up! LOL, Sounded fun, so now I am hooked. Good luck and enjoy those squash!

My preference in zuke types is Cocozelle. Not many companies handle it but we think it has the best flavor. And production is fantiasic if you don't get squash vine borers or squash beetles. This cultivar does seem to have a weakness for these pests. I am thinking seriously of raising them in pots this year in hopes of avoiding them or at least reducing the damage. . .

one hill of zucchini and one hill of yellow squash doth a summer garden make...along with lots of tomatos, onions,leeks,beets,carrots,sweet corn,turnips and the fall sown garlic and perennial rhubarb. The rest of your time must be spent growing flowers,fishing and playing golf. Otherwise it must be assumed that you are not yet retired with NOTHING TO DO.