Summer squash is coming in now, and coming and coming. It’s one of the most generous plants you can grow. And dramatic. You may not be able to look across a field and tell whether those vines are sweet potatoes, cucumbers or melons, but by golly you can see a bush squash plant a mile off.
There are two primary things that can attack squash plants and make them disappear from the landscape in a matter of days if you’re not paying attention. Squash bugs and borers. Squash bugs cluster on plants, suck the life out of the leaves, and move on. Mash ‘em wholesale or check websites below for advice. If your plant looks limp one day (and it’s not lack of water) and flattened the next, it’s likely you’ve got squash vine borers. They’re wormy things that work in the hollow stems, leaving behind an orangy-yellow excrement called ‘frass’ on the outside near where it’s entered. If you keep an eye out near the root and see the frass, you may be able to save the plant. (ditto sites below). Powdery mildew, a kind of haze on squash leaves, won’t affect production.
This year I’m growing Starship cymlings (patty pan), which are lovely deep blue-green and sweet, Gadzukes, which is a pale green ridged meaty zucchini type, and little round stuffers. Any summer squash can be sliced thin and stir-fried with onions and potatoes for a side dish or piled (post-frying) into a casserole with a whatever-you have-in-the-frig cheese and bread-crumb topping for a whole vegetarian meal. Or made into soufflé with thyme, nutmeg and gruyere. Or diced, rolled in a little olive oil and Indian spices, baked and served with a little yogurt or ricotta. Or layered with eggplant, celery, cheese, peppers, onions, spaghetti sauce and broken, uncooked spaghetti and baked. They’re nice sliced in long thin strips, and slathered with smoked salmon spread drizzled with lemon juice or in salad with toasted pine nuts, lime-marinated Padron peppers, chopped lemon basil and scallions with lemon-rind dressing. When we’re sick of thinking up new ways to use summer squash, we grate them raw into freezer bags and use them in winter casseroles and breads. But before we do that, we make:
Zucchini Fritters.
Do everything at the last minute, otherwise the squash will ooze juices and make a gooey mess instead of a lovely puffy fritter. Grate about 2 cups of squash into a bowl. Add about ¼ cup minced onion, ¼ cup minced sweet pepper or mild poblano (mine are hot this year), juice of a lime, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, Spanish paprika, cumin, dash of hot sauce, and about a cup of minced fresh herbs – lime basil is a key flavor for us, but you can personalize it by playing with the herbs. Mix. To this add about ½ cup flour, 1 tblsp baking powder and an egg. Mix but don’t stir it more than about 30 strokes to keep from getting the gluten going in the flour. Drop by spoonfuls into very hot oil in a pan or deep fryer. Pull out when crispy and brown on both sides and done in the middle. Serve with chipoltle sauce — chipoltle pepper, chopped with a little of its sauce in mayo with a dash of lime juice.
Squash Vine Borers
https://www.theslowcook.com/2010/07/01/attack-of-the-squash-vine-borers/
https://www.agnr.umd.edu/extension/gardening/growit/Current%20Plant%20and%20Pest%20Problems/Squash%20Vine%20Borer.cfm
Squash Bugs:
https://carroll.umd.edu/Agriculture/files/SquashBugManagementInCucurbits.pdf
Zucchini Recipes
https://southernfood.about.com/od/zucchinirecipes/r/bl00819e.htm
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Swordfish-with-Two-Squash-Potato-and-Tomato-Saute-2313
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Potato-and-Summer-Squash-Salad-with-Marjoram-Lemon-Vinaigrette-235583
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