Growing Costata Romanesco Italian Heirloom Zucchini, and TastyRecipes!
April 3, 2016 by Cerena Childress
Smile and be wild! Be healed.
Kelly Kilpatrick,Horticulturalist at Annie’s Annuals says:
‘My favorite squash ever! Zucchini ‘Costata Romanesco’ is lovely with dark green flecked flesh & strong ribbing. It doesn’t produce a ton of fruits, so you won’t be swimming in zucchinis you don’t know what to do with but the ones you do get are so much better tasting. The fruit is firm & tasty & a bit nutty-flavored. Produces a lot of male blossom buds that are great for stuffing. A robust plant, give it plenty of space – 3-4’ around should do. Better air circulation will help prevent mildew of the leaves, to which squash can be susceptible. I like to let the fruits grow gigantic (they don’t get spongy!) & then cut them into rounds & throw them on the grill. The grilled patties make the yummiest sandwiches, just get a good loaf of bread, slather it with pesto, add a patty & sprinkle with parmesan. Yum! I’m so hungry now!’
I got into Romanescos when I was photographing at Santa Barbara’s Pilgrim Terrace Community Garden. The production was incredible, a zuke at every leaf junction! Others say the plant is prolific as well. Kelly’s experience must be comparing it with yet another even more prolific variety! Here is the May 16, 2016 image I took at Pilgrim Terrace Community Garden!
At this stage, while the ribs are prominent, shave or slice the small zukes crosswise, the rawslices arestar shaped! Perfect for your pasta sauce or to adorn your salad!
Planting Romanescos is like with other zukes.
Zukes are frost sensitive, but I saw them started from seed in the ground successfully in January at our Santa Barbara community garden several years! Start early indoors and transplant when temps are safe.
Full Sun and plenty of space!
Soak seeds overnight, 8 to 10 hours.Equisetum tea is the sovereign remedy for fighting fungus – especially damp-off disease on young seedlings. Spray on the soil as well as plant.
Right proper Companions! Plant potatoeswith Zucchini to repelsquash bugs.Radishwith cukes & zukes to repel flea beetles andcucumber beetles.
Rather than planting on a mound, consider planting in a basin. That will keep their soil more moist in these hot dought times in southern California. Put a stake in the center of the basin, water only at the stake. Make your basin large to serve the many mini lateral feeder roots.
Zucchini require a high level of feeding. Best planted in rich well-drained soil, high in organic matter, kept moderately moist.
Mulch heavily – up to 6″ deep. This keeps fruit off the ground and helps to avoid rot.
Powdery Mildew is the bane of zucchini plants.Deter diseases such as mildew by watering the soil not the leaves (also avoid handling plants). Water in the morning so plants can dry before damp evenings. Use your baking soda, powdered milk, aspirin foliar feed as prevention!It can beused on roses every 3 to 4 days, but do your veggie plantsevery 5 to 10 days,or after significant rains,as the plant grows, because these new plant tissues are not yet protected yetby yourfungicide.Chamomile and garlic teas are also used to fight mildew on cucumbers and squash. Compost tea itself is very beneficial as inoculates the plants with a culture of beneficial microorganisms.Best of all is to plant powdery mildew resistant varieties:
- Cucumber: Diva
- Yellow Summer Squash: Success, Sunray, Sunglo
- Zucchini: Ambassador, Wildcat
- Pumpkin: 18 Karat Gold, Gladiator
How many?!ONLY ONE Zuke plant is allllll I need. A plant per person is plenty! Believe me! Harvest small, if you can’t keep up. Those are bite size when you cook them or slice for fresh in salads. ‘They’ say grow at least 2 plants to improve fertilization, but I have never had a problem with just one!
Harvest from 50 days. Zucchini flowers will come sooner, of course….
Zucchini flowers are a great source of folic acid and are often “prescribed” for those who are lethargic, anemic or pregnant!Both male and female flowers are edible but you’ll find that the females are slightly more robust.
If you are growing your own squashes and don’t want to disturb the production, harvest just the male flowers (leaving one behind for pollination). If, instead, you have the universal problem of more zucchini than friends who will accept them – then go ahead and harvest the females as well! The females are the ones with the little “zucchino” for a stem.
In the image, the male, on the right, has no zucchino and only one stamen.Don’t be alarmed if your zuke makes lots of boy flowers first! That’s Mother Nature’s way of making sure the girl flowers get pollinated right away!
Saving seeds! Squash must be fully mature before harvested for seed production. This means that summer squashes must be left on the vine until the outer shell hardens. Allow to cure 3-4 additional weeks after harvest to encourage further seed ripening.Chop open hard-shelled fruits and scoop out the seeds. Rinse clean in a wire strainer with warm, running water. Dry with towel and spread on board or cookie sheet to complete drying. Viability is 5-6 years.
DELICIOUS RECIPES!
‘Long about late June, July, gardeners are starting to seek new ways to enjoy their Zucchini! ZOODLES! Here are 28 cool summer variations on how to include this common veggie in a unique way!http://hurrythefoodup.com/zoodle-zucchini-pasta-recipes/
Zucchini Zoodles with Kale Pesto
Food processor recipe makes 2 servings plus 1½ cups leftover pesto!
For the kale pesto:
3 cups chopped kale leaves
¾ cup packed fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts (toasted or raw)
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about ⅔ cup)
For the zucchini noodles:
4 medium zucchini
2 tablespoons olive oil
⅓ cup kale pesto (above), plus more for serving
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about ½ cup), plus more for serving
Grated Parmesan, for serving
And, of course, make any changes to the recipe your heart or palate desires!
See also Zucchini Bites and ala the New YorkTimes,Zucchini Lasagna!
May your world be round and delicious!
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The Green Bean Connection started as correspondence for the Santa Barbara CA USA Pilgrim Terrace Community Garden.We are very coastal, during late spring/summer in a fog belt/marine layer area mostyears, locally referred to as the May grays, June glooms and August fogusts.Keep that in mind compared to the microclimate niche where your veggie garden is. Bless you for being such a wonderful Earth Steward!
See the entire April GBC Newsletter
Posted in Aspirin, Baking Soda, Community Garden, Companion, Cucumber Beetle, Disease, Disease Resistant, Drought, Flea Beetles, Garden Practices, Home Remedies, Mildew, Nonfat Powdered Milk, Pests, Potato, Radish, Seed Saving, Seeds, Squash, Summer, Varieties, Veggies, Zucchini | Tagged Annie's Annuals, Community Garden, Costata, Cucumber beetles, Disease, Equisetum, Equisteum, female, Flea Beetles, Folic acid, fungus, Heirloom, Italian, Kale, Kelly Kilpatrick, Lasagna, male, pest, pesto, Pilgrim Terrace, potato, Powdery Mildew, prevention, radish, Recipe, Ribbing, Romanesco, Santa Barbara, save, seed, squash, Squash bugs, Summer, Tea, Zoodles, Zucchini, Zuke | Leave a Comment
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