What To Do With Overgrown Zucchini

 

        So it’s that time of year again, sort of the gardening version of World War Z, only in this case the “Z” stands for zucchini not zombie. Even the most diligent gardener is going to have a day they forget to check their zucchini plant every fifteen minutes, and some of those zucchini are going to race right past the perfect eight inch long point and become squash monstrosities.

        What do you do with those huge, overgrown zucchinis? I have recipes for zucchini bread, zucchini brownies, and even mock crushed pineapple made from ground up zucchini. But let’s face it, one, maybe two tops, giant zucchini provide enough ground up squash to make enough brownies, bread, and even fake pineapple to supply a small village. So what do you do with the rest of the crop?

           I have the perfect solution--throw those zucchini onto the compost pile. When I make this suggestion to people, it is usually followed by looks of horror and the words “wasteful” and “guilty”. But there is nothing to feel guilty or wasteful about. God created a wonderful system when he created gardening. Plants take nutrients from the soil and the atmosphere and join them into fruits and vegetables that can nourish us. Then whatever doesn’t get eaten, decomposes releasing all those nutrients back into the soil to fertilize the next generation of plants. No waste, no guilt.

            So after you’ve eaten, frozen, and given away all the zucchini you and your neighbors can stand, give it up. Stop trying to feed people and start feeding your compost pile. Your friends and your soil will thank you.