Zucchini in bloom

Our zucchini is blooming and setting fruit! This is one of the most fun times in the vegetable garden, when you can begin to see how the fruit will appear. Zucchini is particularly gratifying because the display of zucchinis in the grocery store gives so little away about how they grow. The plant itself is a little unruly and big: the leaves can easily be a foot across. And it needs a spot in the full sun, although it is possible to harvest some fruit from plants in some dappled shade. We are growing ours in large containers (the size in which large shrubs or small trees are sold) because we don’t have enough space or sun in the vegetable beds. The containers need to be big because zucchini are heavy feeders, like melons and other squash, and don’t like to dry out.