Quick Tips for Harvesting Zucchini and Zucchini Blossoms

Gardeners growing zucchini are often blessed with large numbers of blossoms and fruit. Here are a few tips on how to harvest your bounty:

Tools. Use a sharp knife or garden scissors to harvest zucchini, making a cut on the stem about a half-inch to an inch above the fruit. Avoid the temptation to pull or twist the zucchini fruits as they are usually well-attached; overly aggressive attempts to remove fruits by hand may damage the fruits or plant.

Size of fruit. Harvest when fruits are small and tender, and skin has not begun to toughen, generally at 5 to 7 inches in length. To harvest very young zucchini fruits with blossoms still attached, harvest zucchinis at 1 to 2 inches in length. As zucchini fruits grow large, their rinds or skins toughen and become less palatable. This is normal; at large fruit size, the inside flesh of zucchini remains edible, although possibly less flavorful or more bitter, up to the point that seeds form inside overmature fruits.

Harvesting blossoms. Zucchini blossoms are often tender and least damaged by insects and environmental conditions just as they begin to open. GardenZeus recommends harvesting edible flowers in the morning or before temperatures heat up on a given day. Use a sharp knife or garden scissors to cut the zucchini bloom on its stem about a half-inch to an inch below the bloom. Remove the stem stub before cooking.

To view customized information for growing zucchini go to GardenZeus and enter your zip code, then go to zucchini.

Other articles of interest:

Growing Summer Squash (Including Zucchini) in the California Home Garden

How Well Do You Know Zucchini? Take Or Short Quiz

Advanced Gardening Tip: How to Save Seeds From Summer Squash, Including Zucchini