Rumor has it zucchini will turn many gardeners into night ninjas leaving multiple presents on your neighbors’ doorstep.

This is the time of year to be thankful, and I am thankful for zucchini. It is something everyone can grow and share. It’s also a way to make friends.

For 2025, I encourage you to plant more zucchini. Use it as a way to help others learn to grow. Make others smile by dropping off some plants and recipes to use them.

Zucchini belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae, an annual grown in the full sun. Ample drainage and composted soil allow for great growing conditions.

Water from the base to avoid wetting foliage, which may cause powdery mildew and fungal infections.

I use water spikes that screw onto a pop bottle after I cut the bottom off. This allows you to water where the zucchini is planted once the large leaves fill in.

Squash vine borers are one pest appearing mid-summer laying their eggs at the plant’s base.

When eggs hatch, the larvae burrow into the stems to feed, cutting off the flow of water and killing your plant. Mulching keeps the soil moist and keeps weeds from germinating.

It’s important to use an all-purpose fertilizer when planted, and then again when the first zucchini appears.

Grow in groups of two to three planted close together in hills to help them pollinate.

Botanically speaking, zucchini is technically a fruit, yet it’s often treated as a vegetable. Fruit develops from a flower of a plant and a vegetable is any other part of the plant that’s edible such as stems, roots and leaves.

My friend Deb asked if my plants only had male flowers, and I hadn’t really lifted the leaves to see if I had male and female flowers. I’m trying to give them their privacy.

A few reasons for your plant not producing female flowers are not getting enough sunlight or water. Another reason is not being properly pollinated, which can be caused by a lack of pollinators or heavy rain that can wash away the pollen. It’s also possible the plant is still too young and has not reached maturity.

Male flowers come first while females follow. You can tell the difference as male flowers have a slender straight stalk, and females have a tiny miniature squash at their base.

When male flowers bloom, they scatter pollen over the plant’s tiny hairs that cover the stems and leaves. Pollen remains when male flowers drop off the plant.

When the female flowers appear, they’re pollinated by insects walking through pollen and carrying it to the female. If you notice a lack of pollinators, hand pollination can be done by transferring the pollen using a small brush or cotton swab.

Gently collect pollen from the stamen of a male flower and apply it to the stigma of a female flower.

Harvesting often will keep the plant producing, and storing zucchini in the refrigerator inside a plastic bag keeps it fresh for a week. Plus, the smaller ones have greater taste and use for those who are not accustomed to eating zucchini.

When I miss a day of picking or get too busy, I have larger fruit. I shred these into my zucchini bread recipe to freeze for the future. Blossoms also are edible and are good stuffed then baked or fried.

So, get out your ninja outfit and night vision goggles. It’s time to plan for growing zucchini in 2025.You, too, can sneak a zucchini or two — making someone’s day and sharing the bountiful harvest.

To learn more, go to https://go.osu.edu/growzucchini.

Baytos is an Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer in Mahoning County.