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For anyone trying to get their children interested in gardening, zucchini is an excellent way to pique their interest. Not only is this an incredibly easy vegetable to grow, but it also has a relatively short growing period, so your young gardeners will get a quick payoff for all of their hard work.

You can grow zucchini from seeds, or you can purchase small zucchini seedlings and skip the beginning cultivation part. To find out how to grow zucchini from seeds and how to know when to pick zucchini, read on. Our easy step-by-step guide ensures that you'll know exactly what to do to grow this delicious vegetable.

Things You'll Need

Zucchini Seeds
Potting Trays
Potting Soil
Fertilizer
Shovel or Roto-Tiller

Planting

The first thing you have to do is purchase your zucchini seeds, potting trays, and potting soil so you can start them from seed. This should be done four to six weeks before you plant them outside to ensure that they have ample time to germinate and sprout.

Get a bowl and mix your potting soil with water until you have a nice moist mix. You don't want to soak it all of the ways through—just enough that it feels damp to the touch.

Spread your potting soil evenly over your potting trays until you have at least a four-inch layer of soil. Poke a half-inch (1 cm) hole in the center of each cavity with your finger or with a spoon handle. Drop two zucchini seeds into each hole on their sides and gently back fill them until you have an even surface around one-eighth of an inch thick.

Water your newly planted seeds thoroughly, and set them in an area where they'll get a lot of bright sunlight. You can cover them with plastic to keep the moisture and heat in, but it's not necessary for germination. Once your plant sprouts and starts to grow, it's time to move them outdoors.

Pick your place carefully, as your zucchini will need from six to ten hours a day of bright sunlight to thrive. They also well well-draining soil. If it's possible, pick a plot with southern exposure to maximize the sunlight.

Prepare your soil by tilling or digging up a patch of ground to eight inches (20 cm) down. Remove any rocks or stray weeds that remain, and mix in your compost and soil. You want your pH to fall between six and seven and a half. Add peat moss or pine needles to lower the pH and alkaline to raise it to the correct level.

Make mounds for your zucchini to grow in that area around one foot across (30 cm) and four inches (10 cm) high. These mounds should be spaced twenty-four inches (61 cm) apart so your zucchini has room to grow.

Poke two holes in the tops of each mound approximately two inches (5 cm) apart and one inch (3 cm) deep. Gently remove your zucchini sprouts from the potting trays and place them in the mounds, one sprout per hole. Back-fill the holes until you have level ground. Finish the planting process by watering your plants thoroughly.

Growing

Your zucchini plants are low maintenance, but they'll need a few things to stay healthy and happy. Water your zucchini plants every two or three days in the early morning hours to keep them moist.

Watch the mounds for weeds, and weed every day or every other day as these weeds will compete with your zucchini plants for space. If weeds are a problem, apply a thin layer of mulch to each mound.

Add a liquid fertilizer every three or four weeks to each zucchini mound to promote healthy growth. Be careful that you don't get this on the leaves as it can burn them. Watch for blooms and zucchini to develop.

Harvesting

Watch for your zucchini to grow to at least four inches (10 cm) long. This is when they're ready to pick. If you want a lot of zucchini, pick them as soon as they mature. If you don't want a lot of zucchini, keep one or two zucchinis on the vine to slow down production.

Use a sharp knife and sever the zucchini close to the stem when it reaches maturity. This will allow for more growth. Store your zucchini in a cool, dark room or the refrigerator until you're ready to use them. They're excellent in salads or bread.

Common Problems

Downy Mildew

Downy Mildew is caused by parasites, and they cause fuzzy white or grey growth at the plant's lower leaves. If you leave it untreated, it'll spread through your zucchini crop and leave dead or stunted plants. Watering your plants from below can help reduce the risk of this parasite as water sitting on the plant's leaves is an excellent growing medium.

Cutworms

Cutworms can quickly take over a garden if they go unchecked. This is a caterpillar that chews through your plant's stem at ground level. They'll go completely through and kill the plant. To reduce your cutworm problem, remove any dead plant matter from your garden as this is what they lay their eggs in.

Here is a neat little trick to keep pesky cutworms away from your zucchini seedlings.

Bacterial Wilt

Bacterial wilt is found most often on vine crops like zucchini and pumpkins. The bacterium Erwinia tracheiphila starts feeding on young plants, and this causes the plants to become unhealthy and wilt. This is a highly contagious disease, and it should be stopped as soon as possible. Remove any affected vines to stop it from spreading.

Fun Trivia

One full zucchini contains just twenty-five calories
A zucchini has more potassium than a banana
A zucchini's nutrients and vitamins can help prevent heart disease and cancer
Zucchini comes from the Italian word for squash.

Zucchinis are an easy and rewarding vegetable to grow, and you can get a lot of food from one plant. Now that you know how to grow zucchini and when to pick zucchini, you can add this vegetable to your garden this year.