Dark Green Heirloom Zucchini Squash Seeds

An heirloom variety of summer squash, Dark Green Zucchini is grown as a fruit vegetable. It sets small yellow flowers followed by uniform 10- to 12-inch cylindrical fruits with a moist, crunchy texture and a mild flavor. Zucchini is good fried or baked and can also be used in pastas and soups. Zucchini squash is considered a superfood for its nutrient rich content, having a high (top 20) Aggregate Nutrient Density Index score (ANDI), or micronutrient-per-calorie density. Zucchini is low in calories, brimming with fiber, and packed with nutrients. It is an excellent source of vitamin B6, vitamin A, folate, and potassium. It is also rich in antioxidants, including lutein and zeaxanthin.

Dark Green, an herbaceous annual, is a member of the cucumber and squash family (Curcurbitaceae), often called cucurbits. A bush type, Dark Green has a compact, bushy, mounded habit and a vigorous growth rate. The plant is heavy yielding. Dark Green is monecious, producing both male and female flowers, and does not need a second plant for pollination. But the female flowers must receive pollen from the male flowers to set fruit, which is usually carried out by bees. So, it may be helpful to plant bee-attracting plants, like marigolds and zinnias, nearby to ensure pollination. Open pollinated, it produces seed that grows true to variety, ideal for seed saving.

Easily grown from seed, Dark Green prefers a sunny location with fertile, organically rich, medium moisture, well-draining loam, having a pH of 6.0 to 6.8.

A warm-season vegetable, sensitive to cold temperatures and frost, zucchini squash seeds can be direct sown into warm spring soil after all danger of frost has passed but can also be started indoors about 3 to 4 weeks before transplanting. Flowers begin to set fruit with day temperatures between 68 to 72°F and night temperatures between 60 and 65°F. Mulching helps to moderate soil temperature and to maintain soil moisture. Protect plants with row covers if temperatures are expected to dip below 50°F.