Zucchinis are one of the easiest summer squash to grow, but need a little space in the vegetable patch, says gardening columnist JACKIE WARBURTON.

ZUCCHINIS are fast growers, but check the fruit every day until they reach the size you want to pick. 

For the best flavour, zucchinis are picked at around 10-15 centimetres long. If left to grow, they can become a marrow, still edible but better tasting when young. 

When picking a zucchini, cut with a sharp knife or secateurs at the base of the stem, removing a section of the stem as well. 

The more zucchinis you pick, the more will grow. If there is pollination failure, the zucchini will start to form, die and go from yellow to black and fall off the plant. 

Zucchinis have male and female flowers on the same plant and when conditions are right, the plant will have both open for the bees to pollinate the flowers. 

Hand pollination can be done by picking the centre of the male flower (the anther) and touching the female flower (stigma) lightly to deliver the pollen. 

The difference between the flowers is easy to see; the male flowers will be smaller than the females and there is no bulb at the base of the flower. 

If growing multiple varieties of summer squash in a small space they can cross pollinate and you could end up with some weird and interesting looking fruit. It would still be edible, but probably not very tasty. 

I grow only one variety – “Black Jack” – so it does not cross pollinate with other summer-squash varieties. It is the most versatile in the kitchen (if you’d like a copy of my zucchini relish recipe, email me). 

ALSO growing and flowering well with the extra rain is my tree mallow (Lavatera maritima), a fast-growing shrub that is semi-deciduous in our climate, whereas in warmer climates it’s an evergreen. 

Lavatera, a tough plant that’s a good filler if there is room in the garden, likes a full sun position and flowers from now and through to autumn. It’s very attractive to bees, insects and butterflies.

A cousin to Lavatera that’s easy to grow (even from seed) and grows well in Canberra ise hollyhocks. They love full sun and can look striking as a backdrop plant or planted in a clump. 

Spent flowers kept on the stem in autumn will more than likely self-seed and produce more plants. 

Hollyhocks can get mites and fungal diseases, such as rust, and can look unsightly. Spray with a wettable sulphur to keep this problem at bay. This also can be sprayed on zucchinis to combat powdery mildew.

AUTUMN bulbs (such as colchicums and nerines) should be in the ground before the hot weather comes. 

DAHLIAS should be putting on new growth now. To get the most flowering out of them, they need to be continually tip pruned right up to Christmas. 

When stems are seven to 10 centimetres high and have at least two or three sets of leaves, they can be tip pruned and the cuttings dipped into hormone gel and placed in propagating mix or vermiculite to strike more plants. 

This is a quick way of propagating dahlias without waiting for the tubers to be divided and is called green-tip propagating. Just about all dahlias need to be staked for supporting the heavy flowers. 

Any planting into the garden in the hotter months will need a little more care to get growing and dead heading of roses and flowers in general will keep shape throughout the season. 

jackwar@home.netspeed.com.au