If you’re like a lot of people (me, me a few years ago), you probably grow zucchini by letting it sprawl on the ground, its giant leaves going every time.
Even with compact varieties of zucchini, these are not small plants. They take up a large part of a bed, crowding out other plants and grow so densely that they sometimes end up with powdery mildew.
But what if I told you that zucchini, squash, pattypans, and other types of summer squash don’t have to be grown this way? That they can really bet and vine pruned like a tomatoand take up so little space that you can grow a large productive plant in just 1 square foot of soil?
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What does this look like in practice?
The first time I staked and pruned my yellow zucchini, I couldn’t believe how much healthier the plant was. The stem remained upright, the leaves grew, and none of the vines dragged in the dirt and attracted disease.
I had a manageable plant with room to grow radishes under the canopy and melons next to it. Best of all, growing my summer squash vertically made for easy harvesting since I didn’t have to dive into the vines to look for fruit. (You know what happens when you turn your back on pumpkins for just one minute…!)
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If you’ve never tried this technique, here’s how to set it up properly. (You don’t want to start too late when your plant becomes harder to train.)
Step 1: Bet
You will need one (or two) sturdy 4- to 5-foot stakes to support each plant. I have used lightweight coated metal stakes and EMT conduit with success.
The best time to add a stake is when you sow your seeds or transplant your seedling as it minimizes damage to the roots.
Drive the stake 8 to 12 inches into the ground. Plant your seed or seedling right next to the stake so that as it grows, you can tie the stem to the stake.
If you already have an established squash plant, don’t wait! You can even train it to grow vertically. I usually stake my plant when it is under 1 foot tall as it has less leaves to fight and the stem is easier to see.
Most squash plants have a main stem, like tomato plants. If you’re waiting for your plant to grow, it’s harder to find the stem when things look like this:
However, staking a ripe pumpkin is still possible. It’s a bit awkward to add the stake and start training the stem because the leaves will take a while to reorient and start growing up order out. Here’s how it looks:
In my experience, I have found that using two stakes on each side of the stem supports it best. This really depends on the summer squash variety and your local garden conditions. (Does the bed have a lot of exposure to the wind?)
You can start with one stake and see if that’s enough, then add a second stake if you’re having trouble keeping your plant upright.
Step 2: Tying the stem
At first, you may not need to tie the stem when the plant is small. You can see in the image below that I simply (and gently) wedge the main stem between two stakes.
But as the plant starts to get taller and heavier, it will need more support. Using a soft plant tie (such as Velcro, coated wire, or elastic ties), loosely tie the stem to the stake. You don’t want to tighten the tie so much that it restricts growth.
Step 3: Pruning
Remove the lower leaves at the base of the main stem. These are the oldest leaves that usually touch the soil. Use clean shears or pruning shears to cut the leaf stem as close to the main stem as possible.
You can see how the leaf stalks are hollow until they reach the main stem where they become solid. You want to cut the leaf down to the main stem so you don’t leave any nooks or crannies for pests to enter.
Step 4: Harvest and continue tying and pruning
Harvest regularly to keep your plant productive. If you always let your zucchini grow to huge sizes, your plant will slow production instead of continuing to produce new flowers.
As the main stem grows, tie it to the stake every few inches to keep it upright.
Every other week or so, continue to prune back some of the older (lower) leaves, damaged or yellowed leaves, and any leaves deep inside the plant that don’t get sun, to improve airflow.
Make sure you don’t prune more than a third of the plant at a time. You always want to leave a good number of leaves on the plant (I aim for at least 10) as they act like solar collectors, drawing energy from the sun to feed the growing fruit.
Keep pruning and tying off the main stem until your plant dies from frost (or until you get sick of squash or need room for your fall crops).
How to stake plants with multiple stems
Sometimes a squash plant branches into two (or more) main stems at the base. If you have limited space, simply remove one of the stems when it is small and easy to cut.
I usually like to hold both stems and will add a second stake to support the second stem. The plant’s footprint will be larger if you keep both stems, but still smaller than if you let the plant spread horizontally across the bed.
This particular zucchini plant started with two main stems and then grew a third stem, which I kept to let it drape over the edge of my raised bed.
Does pruning squash increase yield?
According to this studyit does! But a caveat: The researchers only pruned their squash twice (20 days after transplanting and 30 days after transplanting) to observe the results.
However, even with their limited pruning, they found that “pruning helps reduce nonproductive plant parts, which allows the photosynthetic process to be more widely distributed, enhancing fruit weight and production.” They also observed “increased flowering, fruit number per plant, fruit length and diameter, and ultimately increased yield compared to no pruning.”
My (unscientific) theory is that pruning can also help improve pollination (and reduce the need hand fertilize your squash plants), as bees have easier access to flowers when they are not buried in multiple layers of leaves.
So give it! Space your zucchini plants every 12 inches to prepare for staking, make sure the soil is rich in nutrients, and use the free space underneath to grow heat tolerant lettuceradishes or other short plants that benefit from some afternoon shade.
