SUMMER SQUASH TIS THE SEASON

The problem I have noticed with summer squash is letting it stay on the vine for too long of time which results in the fruit becoming overlarge and overmature. This produces a fruit large in size with a very watery flesh and little flavor. It is best to harvest your fruit when it is small,tender and sweet. This will lead the gardener to inspect the fruit every two to three days because rapid growth will result in an oversized squash in no time.If an oversized summer squash is found,which will have produced a hard skin,it would be better to throw it out. It has a tendency to reduce the energy in the plant which means less smaller fruit will be produced.

You should be planning to include some summer squash in your garden. If you start now you can still have some very excellent summer squash by late summer or early fall harvest. The types of summer squash are numerous ranging from zucchini,scallop, which is the old patty pan type,butter squash,to yellow crookneck with the curved neck and many other selections in between.

Squash blooms are very edible raw or cooked just cover them with batter and fry in oil to get a wonderful taste and flavorful treat. The male blossoms are the ones to use for this epicurean delight. Male blossoms should be used since they are more plentiful than the female ones unless you want to reduce squash production. The male blossoms have a stem that is thin and trim while the female is very thick with a bulge at the base of the petals where your squash is forming. However you do need to have a few male blossoms on the plant for additional pollination so don't pick all of them.

The summer squash can easily be removed from the vine with a good sharp knife or pruning shears. You should only plant several of the variety that is enjoyed by you and your family. The plants are way too prolific and this is what leads to oversized and fruit or you can canvass the neighborhood for takers before it is necessary to dispose of the over production. The young fruit is very immature and the skin is very thin so handle your crop very carefully.

Canning is not recommended for summer squash since the tender quality of the fruit will lead to a mushy texture during hot water boiling. In our family zucchini bread is very popular. Just cut the the Zucchini in half in a length wise fashion and remove any seeds. Then a carrot bread recipe can be used providing the zucchini as a sub for the carrots. You now have as end product a delectible zucchini bread.

Nutritional value is somewhat lower in this squash than its counterpart of winter squash. This is a direct result of its immaturity. Most of the nutritional value is contained in the peel of a summer squash so never peel a summer squash. This fruit is excellent steamed,fried,boiled or grilled and in stir fry mix with onions and all varieties of vegetables including tomatoes.

There is a recipe for edible summer squash blossoms at the website below .