Growing Tasty Zucchini on the Tower Garden

When to Plant Zucchini in Florida

Early fall & spring!

Florida Region	USDA Zone	Spring Planting	Fall Planting
Panhandle (Pensacola, Tallahassee)	8a–9a	Feb 15 – Mar 31	Aug 15 – Sep 30
North Florida (Jacksonville, Gainesville)	9a–9b	Feb 1 – Mar 15	Sep 1 – Oct 15
Central Florida (Orlando, Tampa)	9b–10a	Jan 15 – Mar 1	Sep 15 – Oct 31
South Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Naples)	10b–11a	Jan 1 – Feb 15	Oct 1 – Nov 15

Best Zucchini Varieties for Florida Gardens

Patty Pan is a fun zucchini for children to grow! Its unique flying-saucer shape looks like a little spaceship. Harvest the tender fruits to sauté, or stuff them with breadcrumbs, sausage, and Parmesan cheese for a delicious meal. Bonus: Patty Pan is available on MyScholarShop (MSS) for Step Up folks in the "Growing Guru Seed Pod Box".

Astia is the perfect zucchini for Florida: compact French bush zucchini that produces an abundance of fruit on small plants. It is an excellent choice for a Tower Garden or other small-space gardens. The plant produces early and is highly resistant to powdery mildew. The plant stays compact: 30 inches at most, yet produces full sized zucchini.

Pro tip: Indoor growing can be challenging but is possible: choose a compact variety, plant at least 2 plants, and hand pollinate.

Desert is a reliable zucchini variety for Florida gardeners. It offers excellent resistance to powdery mildew, performs well during Florida's spring and fall growing seasons, and can even tolerate some summer heat. The vigorous plants produce heavy harvests.

Dunja is an open-pollinated zucchini with excellent resistance to powdery mildew, zucchini yellow mosaic virus, and watermelon mosaic virus—three common challenges in Florida gardens. Its compact plants produce consistently high yields.

Cocozelle is a beautiful Italian heirloom zucchini with distinctive green stripes. It thrives in warm weather, offers better disease tolerance than many older heirloom varieties, and adds both productivity and ornamental appeal to the garden.

Pests and Diseases to Watch for in Florida

Powdery Mildew is the most common disease affecting zucchini. It appears as a white, powdery coating on the leaves and spreads rapidly during Florida's warm, humid spring, and wet, cool winters. Plant resistant varieties such as Astia, provide good air circulation by spacing plants properly, and avoid watering the leaves whenever possible. Catch it early to prevent it's spread.

Pro tip: click here for info on treating powdery mildew

Squash Vine Borers are most common in North Florida and the Panhandle, although they are less of a problem in South Florida. Watch for tiny holes near the base of the stem along with sawdust-like frass, which is left behind by the larvae as they tunnel into the plant. Covering young plants with floating row covers before flowering can help prevent the adult moths from laying eggs.

Aphids and White flies are frequent visitors to Florida gardens throughout the year. Small populations can often be controlled by spraying the insects off the plants with a strong stream of water. For larger infestations, insecticidal soap provides effective control while remaining safe for beneficial insects and pollinators when used according to the label directions.

Pollination, Pollination, Pollination

Zucchini has a male and female flower & grows best outdoors with bees pollinating the flowers. You can hand pollinate, too, but you'll find the bees do a better job!

Pro tip: plant at least 2 plants close to each other to ensure you have both male and female flowers blooming at the same time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEU10Z4fJc0