Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

General information and discussion about cultivating melons, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins and gourds.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old June 28, 2012   #1
buckeyegirl
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 30
Default Zephyr Hybrid Summer Squash

Just a quick review on my Zephyr squashes...

They are magnificent! Have already harvested 11 of them, best picked at about 7-8" long in my opinion. They are extremely prolofic, counted another 15 "baby" squashes on it already. Have eaten them raw with dip and grilled with a little olive oil, garlic powder, and black pepper, excellent either way. Great texture, didn't get "mushy", and a wonderful, buttery flavor. Small seeds/cavity.

I have two plants growing in a "smartpot" and they are massive. I am glad that I didn't stick them in the raised bed, because I think they would have taken it over.

Anyway, I recommend them and will definitely put them on my grow every year list.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_0797[1].jpg (354.8 KB, 128 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_0798[1].jpg (478.5 KB, 134 views)
buckeyegirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 28, 2012   #2
gryffin
Tomatovillian™
 
gryffin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 229
Default

I'm growing Zephyr for the first time this year- looking forward to it!!!
gryffin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 28, 2012   #3
meadowyck
Tomatovillian™
 
meadowyck's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Brooksville, FL
Posts: 1,001
Default

sounds like it would be in a veggie lasagna. Looks good.
__________________
Jan

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
-Theodore Roosevelt
meadowyck is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 28, 2012   #4
Fusion_power
Tomatovillian™
 
Fusion_power's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Alabama
Posts: 2,250
Default

Zephyr is arguably one of the best summer squashes available. I grow it every year and sell several hundred plants to local gardeners. Once they grow it, they rarely go back to regular yellow squash.

DarJones
Fusion_power is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 29, 2012   #5
nctomatoman
Tomatoville® Moderator
 
nctomatoman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7
Posts: 10,385
Default

Zephyr lover here as well - though the first year I grew it, I got a cousa looking squash mixed in. I also find that it tends to "run" a bit more than typical - so takes up a bit more room.

Just a wonderful squash!
__________________
Craig
nctomatoman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 30, 2012   #6
chalstonsc
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: sc
Posts: 339
Default

Does the vine borer get it?
chalstonsc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 30, 2012   #7
buckeyegirl
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 30
Default

Yes, it does run...and I have found that the cucumber beetles have arrived and they seem to prefer it over my other squash...so trying to keep them in control. I am thinking about sowing another couple zephyr plants soo, to extend my season!
buckeyegirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 1, 2012   #8
Jayc
Tomatovillian™
 
Jayc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 319
Default

Great to read such good reports as it is my first year with these and still waiting on the first fruit.
Jayc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 3, 2012   #9
chancethegardener
Tomatovillian™
 
chancethegardener's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: WV
Posts: 604
Default

I first saw this variety in a video uploaded by Craig (I think it was on Youtube). Although I don't favor hybrids much, I fell in love with its beautiful color pattern. I tried to grow it but it wasn't very successful for me. One reason might be the heavy rains. Fruits rotted on the plant. And oh yes, it is a runner that one plant invaded one whole raised bed.
chancethegardener is offline   Reply With Quote
Old March 29, 2014   #10
Vespertino
Tomatovillian™
 
Vespertino's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Southlake, TX
Posts: 743
Default

I'm growing this for the first time this year too

What size container is recommended for these? I don't have any raised beds ready for this year so I'm going the grow-bag route. I have 6 seeds started (they haven't peeked out of the soil yet), but I was wondering how many I should grow for a family of two. I'd love some summer squash with dinner, but I don't want to be up to my eyeballs in extra squash. I was wondering if anyone had advice on how many plants I should aim for.

Thanks!
Vespertino is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 28, 2014   #11
Vespertino
Tomatovillian™
 
Vespertino's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Southlake, TX
Posts: 743
Default

After growing them this year I have a little bit of a review on the mighty Zephyr.

I think those who like a sweet yellow summer squash will not be disappointed. The zephyrs were very sweet and tender when cooked, and the flavor is consistent. I should note that I never let them get bigger than 6 inches long before picking them, so I can't vouch for the flavor and texture of squashes allowed to grow larger then that.

However I did have some trouble with the dual color of the squashes developing as pictured. I did get a few that were pale green/mottled all over the squash instead of yellow top and green tip.

This was a very productive squash, even though I used a planter that was way too small. There were plenty of male blossoms to pick and use for deep-fried squash blossoms, I had so many I had to give some away!

Another plus, they weren't all that spiney, so I didn't injure myself too much when harvesting the goods.

Disaster struck with whiteflies as a vector for mosaic virus, which hit my squash plants very hard. However, with some diatomaceous earth and care I got rid of the flies and the squash bounced back when I thought they were as good as dead. So I'd give them another point for endurance. When the weather climbed into the high 90's they started to wither and die, I'm not sure if they didn't make it because they're not meant for weather that hot, or if the mosaic virus and whitefly infestation weakened the plant in the long run.

While the zephyrs are great summer squash, I realized I'm not a huge fan of summer squash so I won't be growing them again. Nothing wrong with the squash, just a personal preference when it comes to flavor. I grew Striatta Di Italiana (a striped zucchini) from Baker Creek, which had a nutty, complex flavor. I found myself preferring those over zephyr squash, so I'll be growing more of those instead of the zephyrs. The striattas were spiney as heck, but they were soooo yummy making them worth every cut and nick.
Vespertino is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
squash , summer squash , zephyr

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:56 PM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★