| Published August 31st, 2011 | Zucchini Pride
Beware of leaving your vegetable garden unattended
| Cathy Dausman | ![](../issue0513/images/0513-02401.jpg) | Eric Dausman's Moraga-grown zucchini weighed in at eight pounds.
Photo Cathy Dausman
| Gardening sites will tell you zucchini is a very low-calorie, healthy vegetable. To that, let's add "easy to grow." Easy? They're more prolific than rabbits. Come summer, the plant is unavoidable at grocery stores and farmer's markets, let alone your own backyard, and your neighbor's. If we replaced our greenback economy with green-backed zucchini, the nation would be debt-free within a week. The challenge is not getting zucchini to grow; it's getting them to stop soon enough.
Sun, bees, heat and water are the magic ingredients to make your zucchini grow. Enjoy our photos of prize zucchini and their proud growers and then send us a photo of your own (stats included). The winner will likely be given a free bucket load of zucchini. Meanwhile, here are some zucchini comments culled from garden sites and how we "squashed" their well-meaning information:
Zucchini is an equal opportunity vegetable which can be eaten either raw or cooked.
The squash: Either way, by the end of the summer you've eaten so many that you never want to see another.
Pick the zucchini squash before they become overgrown.
Or we guarantee you will not be able to locate your yard ...
Don't over-plant zucchini; they are prolific producers when properly grown.
Ya think?!
Zucchini squash form only on the female blossoms. If you wish to eat some of the zucchini blossoms, pick only the male blossoms.
Blossoms have gender? Just how do I differentiate?
Don't over-water zucchini plants, as that may cause stem or root diseases.
...or possibly cause them to die. Oh goody!
Be careful...be very careful. And don't make eye contact yet; it's still zucchini season.
| ![](../issue0513/images/0513-02402.jpg) | A 10-pounder grown in Moraga by Andy Scheck wins this week's zucchini throw-down. Photo Wendy Scheck
| ![](../issue0513/images/0513-02403.jpg) |
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