Fenton Friday: Zucchini Trials

Zucchini hiding in Asparagus foliage.

By Taylor Edwards 

At the beginning of the internship, Kathy Jentz let me choose what I wanted to grow in the community garden plot over the summer. I knew nothing about gardening but I knew that whatever I grew, I didn’t want it to go to waste. I chose two types of Zucchini ('Incredible Escalator', a climbing zucchini and 'Dark Star' zucchini) and Zinnia 'Mazurkia' (Zinnia elegans). 

We planted the vegetables on June 7 and the flowers in the community garden a few weeks later. Throughout the summer, we would check the growth of each plant and tend to the rest of the plot. Because it was so hot, we did a lot of watering and pulling out weeds. I planted the seeds by creating a mound, inserting the seeds into it with my finger, and then watering it before and after. Within a few weeks, the Climbing Zucchini started to grow and you could see the tiny leaves come out of the ground. Unfortunately, the 'Dark Star' Zucchini didn’t sprout at all. After giving it a chance, we tried out a different squash in its place. That one didn’t grow as well so we decided to give the Climbing Zucchini room to grow by itself. There were trellises put up to guide the zucchini to grow on to them. What we found while growing the Zucchini was that the area had to be weeded out a lot. By the end of the summer, the Zucchini took over the bed and the leaves were spreading out into pathways. I haven’t done anything yet with the Zucchinis that I took home, but I plan on using the recipes that Kathy sent me to saute them and put them in pasta. 

The Zinnias were grown with the other flowers in a separate cutting garden bed. The seeds were placed in rows along with Cosmos, Cornflower, Dahlia, and Scabiosa. We planted them by direct-sowing the seeds onto the ground and covering them lightly with soil. After we planted them, we worked together to cover the bed with a garden netting to support the flowers when they grew taller. Next to the bedding were these never-ending chives that kept on growing back and shading our flower seedlings, so those were constantly being cut down. Throughout the weeks, we thinned the flower seedlings so they would have room to grow. By the end of July and early August, several Zinnias were in bloom and they were gorgeous! I really liked how vibrant the pink was in each petal. I got to take some home in a vase and admire how pretty they were. 

This process taught me how much trial and error you go through as you garden. I knew there was a lot of maintenance, but doing all the work showed how it can benefit your plantings. I felt proud to see the seeds growing into actual plants as the weeks went on. Even if you’re not an outdoors person, I definitely recommend finding a vegetable that you enjoy and start growing it yourself. It takes dedication, but you’ll be satisfied with the results.

About the author: Taylor Edwards is a rising senior majoring in journalism with a minor in Black Women’s Studies at the University of Maryland. She is a native of Waldorf, MD, and an intern this summer with Washington Gardener.

How is your garden plot growing this week?

 

About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 12th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.)  See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).