Garden planning can be fun and overwhelming. There are SO many types of vegetables you can grow, it can be hard to decide what types you should add to your garden. One veggie that no garden should be without is a good variety of types of summer squash.
Summer squash is a great choice for any garden. These squash plants are fairly easy to grow (unless you get the dreaded squash bugs) and they are often extremely prolific producers. There are several types of summer squash ranging in size, color and shape.
No matter what type of summer squash you are planting, you can direct sew all of them into your garden. That means you don't have to mess with starting seeds inside or transplanting seedlings.
Summer squash mature and are ready to harvest pretty quickly (around 2 months). You can use these types of squash in many different dishes - grilled, baked, steamed. As noodles, chips, whole. And, summer squash freeze really well, so it is easy to preserve them.
All of the types of summer squash aren't the only things you should be freezing! There are several types of winter squash that you can freeze. We love freezing spaghetti squash!
And, as a fun fact, summer squash are not actually a vegetable botanically speaking. They are considered a fruit. There are several vegetables that are fruits, in fact.
So, what are the top types of summer squash to grow in your garden?
1. Black Beauty Zucchini
What? You may be asking yourself, are zucchini and summer squash really the same thing? They are!
Zucchini is one of the many types of summer squash. And, zucchini does come in a few different varieties itself, but black beauty zucchini is a favorite here. You should definitely give growing zucchini a try.
These zucchini are pretty large at around 6 inches (if you leave them on the plant they can and will get SUPER size!). We seriously had one almost the size of a small loaf of garlic bread! We sliced that sucker in half, put in on the grill and made it the base for a zucchini pizza. YUM!
They have a very pretty very dark green skin. They are also prolific producers. So, you will probably want to figure out a good way to preserve some of them otherwise it will be hard to use them all before they go bad.
We make tons of zucchini themed recipes including: zucchini nachos and zucchini lasagna.
2. Yellow Crookneck Squash
Yellow crookneck squash are probably one of the types you envision when someone says they are growing yellow squash. They are bright yellow in color and have slender, bent necks with a larger, more round body.
You can steam, bake, or grill them. They are great as a side dish or a replacement for noodles.
This type of yellow squash, like others, is a heavy producer once they start growing.
3. Yellow Straightneck Squash
Yellow straightneck squash are very similar to other types of yellow squash with crooked necks. The, probably obvious difference, is the shape of the neck of the squash. Yellow straightneck squash have straight necks.
By Evan-Amos (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
They have the same uses as yellow crookneck squash. They also freeze really well.
4. Pattypan Squash ( a unique type of summer squash)
Pattypan squash, like zucchini's have a few varieties. But they all can be categorized as one of the types of summer squash.
They can come in white, yellow and green colors. All have a similar shape. They are cute, little rounded shapes with a scalloped edge. Pattypan Squash wins the award for oddest name and strangest shape of all types of summer squash.
What types of summer squash are your favorite?
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