The Squash Harvesting Trick For A Better Yield Every Year

It's a fact that you can plant zucchini near beans or peas for a better harvest (all hail the wonders of companion planting!), but we're forever looking for even more tips and tricks to boost our gardens' summer squash yield. To that end, we've learned that pinching squash blossoms — specifically, male blossoms — is another trick to increase production. We've heard whispers about this method on social media, so we had to investigate it ourselves. It turns out that selectively removing blossoms from growing summer squash can redirect the plants' energy into growing fruit instead of producing lush flowers. Pay attention to the flowers, as female blossoms contain the ovaries that will sprout squash, so you don't want to nip those. What you want to target are the abundant male flowers.

Luckily, it's easy to tell the difference between male and female squash blossoms. Male blossoms have thinner, longer stems and contain the pollen-holding stamen in the center. Female flowers have a thickened swelling at the base, which is the fruit-bearing ovary. There are usually more male flowers than female ones. You don't want to remove every single male flower, as you need a few to produce pollen so that squash will continue to grow. But removing some of the male flowers can help revitalize your squash plants and push them to fruit more abundantly. With a little care, you'll be searching up a three-ingredient appetizer to use up excess homegrown zucchini! Plus, as a bonus, the discarded squash blossoms make a delicious dish all on their own.

Don't discard those extra squash blossoms, as you'd be binning a valuable part of the plant that's actually a delicacy available only at certain times of the year. The vibrant yellow flowers of squash blossoms are fully edible, and are appreciated often in Italian and Mediterranean cooking. You can sauté the flowers in olive oil and eat them with just a touch of garlic to highlight their subtle flavor (which some have said tastes like squash itself). A more traditional method is to make a savory filling of cheese like ricotta, goat cheese, or fresh mozzarella, bind it with an egg, and use the petals of the flower as a wrapper. The blossoms are then lightly battered and fried, like a botanical dumpling. 

This dish quintessentially evokes summertime, since this is the only part of the year when the fragile flowers are around. They don't keep for long, so enjoy them soon after picking, though you might get an extra day or two from squash blossoms by wrapping them lightly in a damp paper towel in the fridge. You can store summer squash in the fridge, too.

Pinching squash blossoms from your burgeoning summer squash plants is a twofold good idea. First of all, you will improve your plants' yield tremendously by promoting stronger plants. Secondly, you will have unlocked an equally-enjoyable and edible part of the plant by nipping off the pretty, delicious male squash blossoms. Sounds like this is a tip that every enterprising gardener and foodie should know!