Spineless Perfection Zucchini Seeds

Days to Maturity: 40

This zucchini has the same great flavor as Spineless Beauty but with improved disease resistance. Easy to pick plant with a delicious crisp flavor. You will find minimal scarring on this spineless perfection. These attractive and open planted zucchinis make harvesting easy.

Intermediate resistance to powdery mildew, watermelon mosaic virus, and zucchini yellow mosaic virus. Zucchini is easy to grow and is very versatile in the kitchen. Zucchini bread, zucchini noodles, roasting, sautéing, you name it.

Summer squash ripens during the hot summer months and, thin-skinned, is best eaten fresh. Sow seeds 1 inch deep directly into the garden after the danger of frost is past. Thin the seedlings to 24 inches apart, or plant several seeds in hills 4 feet apart and then thin to 2 plants per hill. (For even earlier harvests, start seeds indoors.) Pick when the fruits are still small (4 to 8 inches long).

Summer squash can be planted any time after there is no longer a danger of frost—from early spring until midsummer. Summer squash will produce excellent yields in any well-drained soil. Harvest your summer squash when they're small and tender. They can over mature rather quickly since they develop so rapidly after pollination, so check your crop frequently in order to pick them at their peak quality. Elongated varieties are best at 2 inches or less in diameter and about 6 to 8 inches long. The smaller "Patty Pan" types are best at 3 to 4 inches in diameter. If your squash does get too large it can still be used for things such as stuffing or grating into breads and other dishes. Summer squash develop very quickly and are ready to pick within 4 to 8 days of flowering. This is especially true in hot weather.

Take care when harvesting your squash—they can bruise and scratch easily, and the leafstalks and stems are prickly, so they can irritate unprotected hands and arms. Wear gloves and harvest with pruning shears or a sharp knife. Storing your summer squash: place unwashed fruit in plastic bags in your refrigerator's crisper. Use within 2 or 3 days for best quality. The open blossoms (before the fruits appear) are also edible—they're delicious dipped in batter and fried.