Vertical cultivation of zucchini
Vertical cultivation of zucchini
Zucchini are traditionally grown on the ground: they require a lot of space, a lot of water, and grow very quickly if you’re not careful. Half a (small) garden bed can quickly fill up with zucchini alone. On top of that, the zucchini leaves also shade large parts of the bed.
This year, I tried an alternative to this traditional method: what’s known as vertical gardening.
Materials needed:
- A sturdy stake, such as a garden stake, that needs to be driven really deep into the ground. A zucchini weighs much more than a pole bean.
- String or garden twine, not too thin or abrasive. I used regular packing tape
- Gloves, if needed (zucchini have nasty, tiny, bristly hairs/spines on their leaves)
- A second person, if needed
- And of course: a zucchini plant of your choice. I tested this with the Black Beauty variety (outdoors) and Rondini (in the greenhouse). It works very well with both varieties.
How do you go about forcing the zucchini to grow vertically?
Step 1: Plant the zucchini and drive the stake into the ground right next to it
Step 2: Depending on the size of the zucchini plant, tie it to the stake for the first time
Step 3: Wait until the zucchini plant grows a little bigger
Step 4: Tie the zucchini back to the stake whenever it starts to lean away from it
Step 5: Repeat steps 3 and 4 throughout the summer
Step 6: If necessary, remove the leaves from the lower part of the stem to make room for a companion plant—the zucchini will continue to grow without any problems
Step 7: Don’t forget to harvest
Advantages and Disadvantages
The biggest advantage of vertical gardening is, of course, that it saves a tremendous amount of space and allows you to plant other crops beneath the zucchini, such as lettuce or radishes. Another advantage is that the zucchini fruits don’t rest on the ground. This means they aren’t exposed to excessive moisture, and snails can’t reach them as easily. This year, I’ve found that snails are no longer a problem for the zucchini since it’s growing upward instead of outward. Apparently, the snails don’t like the bristles either.
The downside, however, is obvious: it’s significantly more work than the traditional method, where you simply let the zucchini grow however it wants.
Experience & Conclusion
The photo shows the Black Beauty variety. It’s growing outdoors, gets full sun from early morning until late afternoon, and is watered via an automated irrigation system. The plant has remained nicely compact, even though it’s being forced to grow in a different direction.
In the greenhouse, on the other hand, I planted the Rondini variety, a round zucchini. This one branched out into many individual stems right after growth began and is more of the fast-growing type—compactness is out of the question! At a height of about 1.70 m, I gave up trying to tie up the various stems (I’m only 1.58 m tall myself...). The zucchini branches are now simply growing downward again (hanging) and that works just fine, too.
Whether this vigorous growth and branching is due to the variety or rather the greenhouse environment, I’ll find out next year by planting the varieties exactly the opposite way: Black Beauty in the greenhouse and Rondini outdoors.
And one final tip: Long sleeves and gloves are highly recommended when working with vertical gardening. You can’t avoid the leaves and stems scraping against your arms, and that causes some real scratches. However, the bristles aren’t strong enough to cause much damage through thin clothing.