How to Plant, Grow, and Care for ‘Black Beauty’ Zucchini

Every gardener should try growing zucchini so they can learn what “never-ending” truly means! A zucchini, or summer squash vine, will grow dozens of delicious veggies throughout the growing season. Plant one or two to have enough for you and your family, friends, and neighbors!

You may have heard the joke about hiding zucchini for others to find. Often, gardeners will plant a vine too many. They discover dozens, if not hundreds, of squash as the blossoms ripen and morph into savory fruit. Growers, be warned: if you grow summer squash, you’ll have too much to eat!

This is a good problem to have. Instead of eating the bland green vegetables from the store, try growing them yourself in a raised bed, container, or planter in your home’s garden.

What Is It?

‘Black Beauty’ is an heirloom variety of zucchini that’s been around since the 1920s. It’s a tried and true cultivar that’s sure to be one of your favorites. Pair it with a yellow straightneck or pattypan type for a bounty of different summer squashes.

Native Area

This variety is a descendant of wild squashes that roamed the wild lands of the Americas. Different species originated from parts of North, Central, and South America. Most are annuals, though some are perennial in warm climates. All prefer well-drained soil, lots of sunlight, and ample airflow to thrive.

‘Black Beauty’ is a type of squash. It’s a zucchini, meaning it sprouts cylindrical, green fruits that swell over time. Other squashes sprout different-shaped fruits, so they have different names. Patty pans are round and flat, crooknecks have crooked necks, and yellow ones are yellow! 

Though most zucchinis are even-shaped and green, some new types are yellow, variegated, or round and defy categorization. There’s a plethora of options to choose from! Despite the many options, this dark green cultivar reigns supreme in gardeners’ and farmers’ gardens.

Characteristics

Like other squashes, this one sprouts green vines with dozens of leaves and blossoms. The leaves have multiple lobes with round edges, and the foliage creates a dense canopy that shades the ground. It’s a bush type, meaning it stays dense and bushy rather than long and leggy. 

Squashes are monoecious, meaning they have separate male and female flowers growing on the same plant. For the vegetables to form, pollen must travel from the male flowers into the female flowers. Bees are typical pollinators, though squash blossoms attract a wide range of pollinating insects. 

The blossoms themselves are edible and have a unique shape. The female flowers sprout on short stems, and they have a mini-zucchini on their ends. The mini vegetable swells after the flower above it receives pollen. The male flowers, which are also edible, grow on long stems that reach up to the leaves. 

Planting

Squash grows rapidly and readily from seeds when the weather is hot and sunny and the days are long. Late spring, summer, and early fall are the most opportune times for the crop. This variety needs 55 days to form mature vegetables for harvesting. Though you can start plants early indoors, they grow best if you sow them directly in the outdoor garden. 

Growing from Seed

Outdoors, sow seeds in mounds a week or two after your last average frost date. Make small hills of dirt, then plant two to three seeds per mound. Sow the seeds one-half to a full inch deep. Water the mounds well and keep them moist, not soggy, until seedlings emerge. 

The seedlings are distinct; look for two round, striped, and oval leaves on short plants. After they sprout, thin them so that one remains per mound. Keep their soil moist, and ensure they have continuous access to direct sunlight. 

Transplanting

If you have a short growing season that’s less than three months long, consider starting seeds indoors in biodegradable pots that you can plant in the garden. Most are paper; you can make them yourself out of cardboard products like toilet paper and paper towel rolls. Plant seeds in the pots, then plant the pots in the ground once the soil temperature stays above 60°F (16°C).

Paper pots need consistent moisture to decay well. Otherwise, they may constrict the roots after transplanting. Ensure the plants stay consistently moist to ensure they have a good start in the garden.

How to Grow

With the right amount of light, water, and air, your zucchini vines will produce ample veggies while the weather is warm. The veggies are technically unripe fruits, which is why their seeds are tender and soft. If you leave them on the vine, they’ll turn into hard, giant fruits with tough seeds inside.

Light

This zucchini cultivar grows best in areas with full sun. Full sun equates to six or more hours of daily direct sunlight. Whether the vines grow from containers or beds, they’ll need plenty of sunlight to thrive. 

Avoid partial shade or full shade with less than six hours of daily sun. Partial shade promotes powdery mildew, a nasty fungal condition that can spread in shady, humid, and warm conditions.

Water

To grow under summer’s heat, these annuals need consistent moisture to keep their roots moist and cool. Water as often as necessary to ensure the ground stays moist, but not soggy. You may need to water daily in hot climates, especially for potted plants. 

Overhead watering with sprinklers is an easy way to wet the garden, but it can have harmful effects on zucchini leaves. Wet leaves, like shady conditions, can cause powdery mildew to spread out of control. 

Instead of a sprinkler, try using drip irrigation or soaker hoses to moisten the soil. They spread water on the ground rather than overhead, keeping the leaves and flowers dry. 

Soil

Well-drained loamy soil is the best type for zucchini roots. Loam is an equal mixture of sand, silt, and clay. Sandy loam, clay loam, and silty clay are variations of loam that can work if you amend them properly.

To amend the soil, add an organic amendment that decays over time. Compost is an ideal amendment, though straw, leaf mold, and fallen leaves work well too. 

Fertilizing

Without enough nutrients or too many of the wrong ones, zucchini vines can grow poorly or improperly. Excess nitrogen will lead to few flowers and too many leaves, while not enough potassium or phosphorus may cause weird-shaped zucchini.

If you’re unsure of the nutrient levels in your garden, consider using a soil test to see the nutrients, pH, and organic matter content of the site. Once you know how many nutrients exist in the soil, you can add the proper amount of fertilizer to avoid adding too much or not enough.

You may not need to add extra fertilizer if you’re using compost as a mulch. Compost is nutrient-rich, and it feeds the ground as it decays.  

Maintenance

These vines need some maintenance to perform their best. Remove any infected or diseased leaves as you see them, and keep their roots cool, moist, and insulated with an organic mulch.

Occasionally, in early spring or when the weather is stormy, pollinators may not be near your garden. Without pollination, the squash blossoms will wither and fall off the vine. You’ll have to pollinate the female flowers yourself to ensure they form zucchini.

Start by finding male blossoms. They sit on long, skinny stems, and they have dusty, yellow-orange pollen inside. Pinch a male blossom off and dust it on the female blossoms. The female flowers have mini squashes behind them and receptive organs inside called stigmas. 

Propagation

You may propagate these annuals in two unique ways: with cuttings or by saving seeds. Cuttings are a great way to clone your favorite variety, while seed saving offers you a chance to grow new hybrids and cultivars. 

Cuttings

Maybe pests are overtaking your squash vines, or you want to replicate an existing plant. Either way, you can take cuttings to quickly and reliably propagate ‘Black Beauty.’ Start by finding healthy stems with a few leaves attached. 

Cut off six to eight-inch stem pieces, then remove their lower leaves and any blossoms. Place the cut stems in pots with potting soil, then water them well. Place the cuttings under partial or dappled shade while they root, and cover their tops with a humidity dome to ensure they stay moist throughout the process.

The cuttings should root in a week or two, after which they’ll need a few more weeks to establish themselves in the pots. Remove the humidity after they form roots, and transition them to bright light to prepare them for the garden.

Seed Saving

‘Black Beauty’ is an heirloom zucchini, meaning you can reliably save its seeds to sprout new seedlings next spring. At the end of the growing season, in late summer or early fall, find a forming zucchini and don’t pick it. Let it swell, and wait for the skin to harden. 

Once the skin is hard and the squash is gigantic, it’s time to harvest it to gather the seeds inside. Cut it off the vine and bring it into the kitchen. Slice the zucchini open, then scoop the hard seeds out from the inside. Place them in a cup of water and swirl them around to free them of any fleshy pulp. 

Strain the seeds and let them dry before storing them in jars or envelopes. Keep them in a cool, dark, and dry location until you’re ready to plant them.

If you or your neighbors are growing gourds, there’s a chance that the seeds you save will sprout gourds instead of zucchini. To ensure you get the seeds you want, pollinate the flowers yourself and bag them with a mesh material to prevent unwanted pollen from getting in the blooms. 

Harvesting and Storage

Proper harvesting is key to a successful crop. Squash tends to grow gigantic overnight, and you’ll want to pick it consistently to ensure it keeps producing. To harvest, use pruners or snips to cut off the swelling zucchini when they’re small and tender.

When cutting, slice into the stem right above the vegetable. A cut stem seals the veggie, allowing it to keep well in storage. Store your harvest on the kitchen counter and use it within the week. You can also freeze, dry, or pickle it for long-term storage.

Common Problems

Zucchini vines may encounter many different pests and diseases during the growing season. Mulch the soil to help prevent issues, and give your plants the care they need to resist these external pressures. 

Pests

Beetles, slugs, aphids, and wormy larvae may target your growing squash. If aphids are present, simply squish them or wash them off with a strong stream of water. The aphids will disappear from the garden with repeated cleanings. 

Manage pests sooner rather than later, as large infestations are difficult to control. Consider using trap crops, crop rotation, delayed planting, and biological controls to ensure the pesky insects don’t spread to other vines. Often, pests on the leaves won’t harm the production of the vegetables; you can let leaf eaters be and still have a successful harvest. 

If you choose to use insecticides, be careful not to harm bees and pollinators. Squashes are heavily reliant on pollinating insects for flower pollination and fertilization. Spray in the evening or morning, and use a targeted spray that doesn’t harm multiple insect species but, instead, targets specific ones.

Diseases

Fungal mildew, anthracnose, and blight may infect vines growing in poor conditions. I live in the Pacific Northwest, where powdery mildew is unavoidable! Learning how to best manage diseases is beneficial, as you may not be able to completely eradicate certain ones from your area.

Prevent powdery and downy mildews by watering the soil, not the leaves, and by growing the plants in full sun, not partial shade. Anthracnose and blight can hurt maturing plants, and they’re especially common in soggy conditions. Add compost, trim infected leaves, and water often, but not too often, to grow disease-free zucchini.