Zucchini: The Squash That Keeps on Giving

I decided last fall that my dad needed to grow zucchini. I decided that this was so because it was fall and I wanted to make more zucchini bread than the one or two zucchini I got from my local CSA last year allowed. 

Somehow, I convinced him despite my mother's protests. Turns out last time he planted zucchini in their garden he planted TWO whole plants. Needless to say, they had more zucchini than they knew what to do with and a lot of wasted space in the garden, not to mention wasted food. This was before I decided I needed to have to zucchini.

What I remember about zucchini growing up is that my grandmother used to grow it and it was mostly disparaged by everyone in the family. Except when it was in zucchini bread or zucchini cake. Have you had zucchini cake? The one my grandmother made was a chocolate cake with chocolate chips on top. Nothing healthy about that creation, but it did taste good. 

At any rate, I decided that zucchini was needed for the zucchini bread. In the fall. What I didn't even think about was that zucchini is not only a fall vegetable. Nope, that baby is pretty much the first plant to start producing very early in the summer. Prolifically. And even though my mom has rediscovered a love of summer squash (which includes the lowly zucchini) there was more that she and my dad could eat alone. Since I was the instigator of this whole thing, those babies were mine. 

Cool. I had a lot of recipes that I had pinned on the Pinterest I wanted to try. Many were in hopes of sharing with my kids who had already expressed their disdain about the vegetable and their reluctance to eat it. Because (and if you've ever grown zucchini, you saw this coming) there was just too many of those things to NOT share with those kids. 

Now I had a mission! And told everyone on Facebook because that means I was really, really serious.

There was so much zucchini, that is exactly what I did. I tried several different recipes and lo and behold! I did come up with two recipes that they liked. Of course, it is too much to ask that they both like the SAME recipe but at least I found one that they each like. 

And as for me? I discovered many ways that I like to eat zucchini, yay! This is such a prolific plant that if you are serious about growing your own food, this is one that you definitely want to have because it really is very versatile. Once you figure out how to use it. 

Here's a list of some of the ways I used the zucchini and our reactions to it:

1. Zucchini subs: No way the kids were eating this one. But since I swore off bread and all things wheat this summer I needed something to eat my meat and cheese on. For smaller zucchini, I sliced them length-wise and scooped out a little of the seeds, filled it in with a spread made from dry Italian dressing mix and Greek yogurt, topped with my favorite meat and cheese. For larger zucchini, I sliced them into rounds and topped the same way. Found the rounds much easier to eat and overall a very tasty and satisfying lunch.
2. Zucchini pizza: Same concept as subs except with pizza toppings. I grilled the zucchini slightly before adding toppings and cooking as pizza. Kids wouldn't touch it, but again, a nice way to go gluten free and still get the pizza flavor. It's all about the toppings for me anyway. 
3. Zucchini chips: We made a variation of this recipe for zucchini Parmesan chips minus the Panko crumbs. Boy loved them, girl tolerated them. I found them to be a nice side dish. 
4. Zucchini tots: I love this one. The girl loved this one. My parents loved it, friends liked it. Boy thinks I am trying to torture him so take it for it's worth. I actually made this so many times that I came up with my own variation on this adaptation of the original recipe. 

Zucchini Tots
(printable copy)

• 4 cup grated zucchini
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup dehydrated onions
• 1 cup of shredded cheese (we like mozzarella, but any kind will work)
• 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
• 1 cup of uncooked quinoa
• salt and pepper


1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a mini muffin tin and set aside. 
2. Use a food processor to grate zucchini and then place in a strainer to squeeze out excess water from zucchini. Since this is such a large amount of zucchini there will still be a lot of moisture after squeezing but that's okay.
3. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. 
4. Using a spoon or cookie scoop, fill the muffin tins to the top. The mixture will likely be runny but the quinoa needs this liquid so make sure you are including some in each scoop. Besides, that's where the seasonings are! 
5. Bake for 15-18 minutes until tops are browned. 

The girl and I love the quinoa in these tots over everything else we tried (quinoa flour, oats) because it gives them a crunchy texture, soaks up excess moisture and keeps them from tasting doughy. Yum! Usually makes 2 dozen or more so we eat the first dozen and freeze the rest to heat up later for a quick side dish.

There was a little zucchini drought towards the middle of summer (not to mention actual drought) and I truly thought the season for this summer squash was over. Not so! My dad presented me with 5 very large zucchini at the beginning of September. They had their hands full with the yellow squash (which I have not learned to love) so the zucchini was all mine. As school just started,  I didn't have a lot of time to deal with these 5 giant zucchini so I did what I always do. I froze them.

First I cut them up in manageable chunks and ran them through the food processor with the grating blade which was working out swimmingly until the bowl was full. And I had two zucchini left. Deciding that there is only so much grated zucchini one can use over the course of the winter I decided to slice the last two. Perhaps I will be able to fashion some zucchini chips for the boy. It may not work out, I realize, but it just may work out better since a lot of the water will easily drain off when they defrost. Could be a disaster, might be genius. We'll see. At any rate, I have a lots of zucchini to throw in soups, for bread and of course, zucchini tots (I actually like working with frozen grated zucchini for the aforementioned reason, the water drains off easily, makes better tots).

When all was said and done, I ended up with an obscene amount of zucchini. After all that we all ate this summer. From only one plant. Over 36 cups of frozen zucchini. 

Yes, we'll be eating zucchini whether my kids like it or not although I have to say my summer mission went extremely well. They may not like all things zucchini but they at least like SOME things and I call that a win. 

Next: Growing, Harvesting and Drying Stevia

Garden Container Review: Upside Down Tomato Planters and Earthbox

While it's exciting that container gardening has taken off and that retailers are taking notice of this interest in container gardening, it's important to note that not all containers do what they claim to do. Two of particular interest as of late are the Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Planter and the EarthBox. Neither of these products is new to the market yet interest is continuing to rise. Are these products worth it? Do they do what they say they will?

The Topsy Turvy and other upside down tomato planters make the following claims: grows delicious & juicy tomatoes all season long, perfect for patio or deck, good for small spaces, no weeding, eliminates caging or staking, no soil-born disease, no blemishes from fruit touching the ground and you can harvest without bending down.

While I've not personally had one of these planters, we have had one at the greenhouse for the last two years. The greenhouse. With near ideal conditions in regard to sun, water and fertilizer. The yield? None. No tomatoes. So much for that all season long claim. And it's probably a good thing, too. Because that claim that there was no bending to harvest? Totally false. This tomato plant was actually lower than than plants in traditional containers growing up to meet us!

I personally think hanging it from a deck or patio is less than ideal for sun exposure. It has to be hung from something right? Like an overhang? Which will actually shade the plant to some extent which is also shaded by the planter itself. The sun is up there yet the plant is down here. Jorge Garcia (Hurley from Lost fame--love Hurley, although that's totally irrelevant here) wrote about his experiences with the Topsy Turvy on his blog. The tomatoes, as would be expected, grew to the light. This completely negates the whole concept of upside down. Why plant them upside down when the plants try to grow right side up? It seems rather mean, not to mention ridiculous! Meanwhile, his tomatoes in regular old pots did outstanding.

On another blog post at Garden Desk, the author bought one of these planters and contemplated its use. The comments to this post were enlightening. Most people who tried them did not get any fruit. Many had plants that fried. Many had plants that grew to the light. Several had more disease than traditional planting. Several who had success, modified the planter in some way which to me, defeats the whole purpose. And most importantly, watering was a nightmare, even with a reservoir.

Much of this is consistent with what we found at the greenhouse. The planter dries out quickly, the plant grows up anyway and the yield is nonexistent. I have to admit that when I first saw these I thought they could be a good idea. Now, I don't know why. Why do the roots to the sky make sense? They are open to sunlight and wind thus drying out faster. Strike one. When watering the plants the water drains to the leaves causing more disease. Tomatoes don't like wet foliage. Strike two. No tomatoes! Strike three and we're outta here!

Save your money. Simply planting a tomato plant in a larger container will be much more cost effective and you will have tomatoes all season long.

I do own an EarthBox. It's a fairly good product although I don't know that it's worth the money. For all it's claims, the same thing could be achieved for much less money. I believe when I purchased my EarthBox several years ago it retailed for $79. I see on Amazon it now sells for $50 so that's a plus. And it comes with wheels now! Nice!

Basically the EarthBox is a self-watering container garden. The kit comes with all the pieces parts to the box, fertilizer and a fitted plastic cover. Staking systems are available to purchase extra. The EarthBox claims double the yields of traditional gardens with less water. Okay, sounds good. And it is good. Yet, any container can be made into a self watering container. Plastic mulch can be cut to fit and secured in a container with garden staples. Time-release fertilizer can be purchased anywhere garden supplies are sold.

Upon perusing the EarthBox site, the main thing seems to be keeping the reservoir full at all times. Well, duh. So basically, water your plants on a regular basis. There is no gauge, window or indicator to alert a gardener to when the reservoir is low so you have to check it daily anyway. I don't see where this is really an upside since with traditional pots I can tell by looking at the soil that plants need water. This is a no-no with the EarthBox. Keep the reservoir full!

In reality, what EarthBox is selling is convenience. Nothing more. Does it work? Sure. Is is worth it? That will be a personal decision by each individual gardener. For some, the convenience of a kit will be worth the expense. For others, they will achieve the same thing with their existing containers, a rigged self-watering system, some fertilizer, plastic mulch and garden staples.

For me, I will continue to use my EarthBox. I have long given up it's prepackaged planting kits and simply planted it using potting soil and time release fertilizer. It works just fine. Will I buy another one? Nope. Don't think it's worth the money. What I will do is rig up several existing containers to be self-watering using some version of this method. And if I don't get around to that (often my garden plans exceed my time and energy limits), I'll continue to plant veggies in regular containers. No matter what, I'll have plenty of fresh vegetables!