Description
Italian Garden Treasure, The Summer’s Abundance
Dark Green Bush Zucchini represents the poetry of Italian kitchen gardens, where the morning harvest filled baskets before the sun grew hot. This variety produces vigorous, bushy plants (2-3 feet across) with dark green, cylindrical fruits (6-8 inches at perfect harvest), silken flesh, delicate flavour, and the kind of prolific generosity that defines summer itself.
The story of zucchini begins in the ancient gardens of Mesoamerica, where indigenous peoples domesticated squash over 7,000 years ago. When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th century, they carried squash seeds back to Europe, where Italian gardeners recognized something extraordinary.
By the 18th-19th centuries, Italian market gardeners developed the compact bush habit, perfect for intensive gardens surrounding Italian cities. When the great wave of Italian immigration swept across the Atlantic in the late 1800s-early 1900s, Italian families carried zucchini seeds in their pockets and trunks as precious links to home gardens and grandmother’s cooking.
Dark Green Bush represents this remarkable journey: New World crops refined by Old World hands, teaching the simple joy of summer abundance.
For more about this Zucchini’s travel to Canada, head over to this blog.
Growing Your Summer Treasure
Days to Maturity: 45-55 days from direct seeding or transplanting
Planting Season: Start seeds indoors 3-4 weeks before last frost, or direct seed after last frost when soil reaches 15.5°C+. Plant in late spring for harvests beginning in July through frost.
Soil Preparation: Rich, well-draining soil enriched with abundant organic matter. Work in generous amounts of compost before planting—squash are hungry plants that reward rich soil with abundant harvests. Space plants 2-3 feet apart.
Sowing Instructions: Sow seeds 1 inch deep, 2-3 seeds per hill. Thin to the strongest seedling when 2-3 inches tall. Transplant outdoors after the last frost, spacing 2-3 feet apart. Handle gently—squash has tender roots.
Sun & Water: Full sun (8+ hours daily). Water deeply and regularly at the base of plants. Mulch generously to retain moisture and suppress weeds.
Care & Maintenance: Feed every 2-3 weeks with balanced fertilizer. Watch for squash bugs, cucumber beetles, and powdery mildew. Hand-pollinate if needed. Harvest regularly to keep plants producing.
Harvest: Begin at 6-8 inches long (45-55 days). Check plants daily during peak production. Use a knife to cut fruits cleanly. Harvest regularly—leaving mature fruits signals the plant to stop producing.
Culinary Uses: Mild, slightly sweet flavour with silken texture. Excellent raw (Italian carpaccio style), sautéed with garlic and olive oil, grilled, roasted, or baked. Use in ratatouille, pasta primavera, frittatas, or Mexican Calabacitas. Golden blossoms are edible—stuffed with ricotta and fried (fiori di zucca). Rich in vitamins A and C, potassium, and fibre.
Hardiness Zones: 3-11 (warm-season annual)
Seed Saving: Isolate by ½ mile from other summer squash or hand-pollinate and bag flowers. Allow 1-2 fruits to mature, with the skin hardening fully. Harvest before frost, cure 2-3 weeks, then scoop and dry seeds. Each fruit contains dozens of seeds.
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