zuccini gone wild!

[baymule]

the bugs ate all my squash!

They nailed mine too, just replanted last Thursday. They are coming up now.....on to round two! The tromboncino seems to be fighting off the borers. The borers are attacking, but the vines are not dying.

 

[digitS']

. . . Another reason to hate you people in south.....eating fresh garden produce while we're trying to get planted.

We will be gift-wrapping Seedcorn and sending him off to .

. . where was that childhood home, Seedcorn ? .

. . ah yes, on the border of Tennessee and Alabama. Buttermilk, okra and blackeyed peas. Home, sweet, home. (I wonder if there's any room for me down there . . !?)

Steve

 

[desertlady]

Desertlady, there is a game that is played with giant zucchini. This usually occurs when the zucchini has produced so much that the family has eaten all they can stand, the freezer is full, jars line the pantry shelves, neighbors won't open their doors to you anymore and everybody locks the car doors so you don't sneak zucchini in their car when they aren't looking. You get discouraged and quit picking zucchini.........then go find GIANT HUGE zucchinis. What to do with them??

ZUCCHINI BASEBALL!! Gather all the neighborhood and use the GIANT zucchini for baseball bats. You hit the baseball, the GIANT zucchini splatters, throw down what's left and run for first base. Variations of the game include using tomatoes for the baseball. Have fun, wash down with the water hose when done.

Zucchini baseball sounds like fun!!! Trombonino squash will make excellent walking canes for older folks!!

 

[desertlady]

OK, on a more serious note, make zucchini cobbler! Zukes that size are perfect for cobbler!

Or, split lengthwise, scoop seeds out. Then carefully scoop the squash, being careful to leave 1/2" on the rind. Chop the scooped out squash in chunks. Chop a large onion, bell pepper and a few stalks of celery. Brown a pound of hamburger, drain grease. Then add the chopped vegetables and stir in a cup or two of spaghetti sauce. Heat through and spoon into the zucchini shells. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in oven at 350 for 45 minutes. At 35 minutes, cover top with shredded cheese, pop back in oven.

You can cook both halves or freeze one for later.

Yummy!! Thank you !!

 

[so lucky]

I haven't planted any zucchini yet. Guess there's still time to plant a few. I just planted watermelon, sweet potatoes and cukes about 10 days ago. It will be interesting to see if the insect problems are worse or better, planting at this time.

 

[Jared77]

Ive missed a few zucchini and have gotten some baseball bat sized ones too. Especially when the pickling cukes or the pumpkins hide them, thats always fun. Its like its some conspiracy to prevent me from collecting all of them.

Those ones we usually make into bread (which freezes VERY well even with apple sauce to make it healthier) so you can have it in the dead of winter. Throw that in some food saver bags and save till the middle of January or late Feb and pull that out. We let them thaw in the fridge and will cut off a chunk. Once thawed a loaf lasts maybe a couple of days at our house. Best part is those frozen loafs stack like bricks in the freezer.

Another thing those ones are good for is making zucchini candy. Small little gummy like candy chews. Kids really like those (I saw an oven recipe too if you don't have a dehydrator) and they are easy to make.

Lot you can do with them.

 

[hoodat]

OK, on a more serious note, make zucchini cobbler! Zukes that size are perfect for cobbler!

Or, split lengthwise, scoop seeds out. Then carefully scoop the squash, being careful to leave 1/2" on the rind. Chop the scooped out squash in chunks. Chop a large onion, bell pepper and a few stalks of celery. Brown a pound of hamburger, drain grease. Then add the chopped vegetables and stir in a cup or two of spaghetti sauce. Heat through and spoon into the zucchini shells. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in oven at 350 for 45 minutes. At 35 minutes, cover top with shredded cheese, pop back in oven.

You can cook both halves or freeze one for later.

Yummy!! Thank you !!

I used to have a recipe for zuchini marmalade made with oversized zuchinis. I got it from an English lady when I still had my plant nursery. I remember it involved candied ginger, pineapple, walnut pieces and orange peel. It was realy delicious but somehow the recipe got lost.
I remember needing a hatchet to split the zuchini. They get really tough and fibrous as they mature.
The Brits don't call them zuchini. They are marrow squash over there.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I just shred and freeze the zucchini in the vacuum bags, measured for the zucchini bread. My recipe calls for three cups of shredded zucchini so thats what goes in the bag. Remember to include the liquid when you thaw that to make the bread unless you like dry zucchini bread.

I havent planted my squash yet either. If you are far enough north the squash vine borer only has one life cycle so you can maybe miss it if you delay, but further south it has two life cycles a year. Im not real far north but well see. The bug is usually my problem anyway, more than the borer. Not sure being late will have any effect on the bug but heres hoping.

 

[desertlady]

OK, on a more serious note, make zucchini cobbler! Zukes that size are perfect for cobbler!

Or, split lengthwise, scoop seeds out. Then carefully scoop the squash, being careful to leave 1/2" on the rind. Chop the scooped out squash in chunks. Chop a large onion, bell pepper and a few stalks of celery. Brown a pound of hamburger, drain grease. Then add the chopped vegetables and stir in a cup or two of spaghetti sauce. Heat through and spoon into the zucchini shells. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in oven at 350 for 45 minutes. At 35 minutes, cover top with shredded cheese, pop back in oven.

You can cook both halves or freeze one for later.

Yummy!! Thank you !!

I used to have a recipe for zuchini marmalade made with oversized zuchinis. I got it from an English lady when I still had my plant nursery. I remember it involved candied ginger, pineapple, walnut pieces and orange peel. It was realy delicious but somehow the recipe got lost.
I remember needing a hatchet to split the zuchini. They get really tough and fibrous as they mature.
The Brits don't call them zuchini. They are marrow squash over there.

Hoodat: sounds like a candied treat!

 

[baymule]

I forgot about the zucchini candy!



Zucchini Candy
10 cups peeled diced zucchini 1/2 inch cubes ( I use "worms" about 3 inches long and 1/12 inch thick and wide. The little dice would be good in muffins, though.
3 cups water
2 pkgs. unsweetened Koolaid
2 1/2 cups sugar
Peel zucchini,
diced, removing seeds. Mix the liquid syrup together. Add zucchini. Bring to
a boil and them simmer for 25 min. Drain. Put on dehydrator trays. Dry 14
hours at 125 degrees. Turn pieces over and dry another 4 hours. This will
feel dry and not sticky when done. Store in jars or other tightly sealed
containers.If you dip in sugar when you turn them, they will be more like
"gum drops" on the outside.
You can do the same thing with the zucchini
but use 48 oz. pineapple juice
2 T. pineapple extract
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice