Zucchini

Meet zucchini, the vegetable that is never behind schedule. Sown in a tray in September and planted out in October, it can be a sprawling plant covered in yellow flowers a few weeks later, and the first fruit is ready in about five weeks.

Its character is generous and a little wild. It spreads over a metre of bed, produces more than a family can eat once it gets going, and rewards a daily look. Pick the fruit small and often, and the plant carries on producing.

What it brings is quick, easy abundance in the cool months, and a way to fill a bed before spring. Two short seasons, one in autumn and one in spring, fit neatly either side of Dubai's winter.

Zucchini is one of the quickest crops in a Dubai garden. The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment's calendar lists it with 35 days to harvest and two windows: nursery sowing from February to March for field planting in March to April, and nursery sowing from August to October for field planting from September to November. For the cool season the autumn window is the one to use, since plants set out in October can be cropping by late November, well ahead of the spring warm-up. UF/IFAS, writing for Florida, gives 40 to 50 days from planting to harvest.

The plant carries separate male and female flowers on the same vine, and UF/IFAS says pollination by insects or by hand is necessary for fruit to set; wrinkled fruit and fruit that drops while small are signs of poor pollination. It also asks growers to protect the bees that matter for fruit set, to avoid insecticides where they can, and to spray only in the evening when bees are less active. Zucchini leaves often carry natural pale greenish-grey splotches that are easy to mistake for powdery mildew, so check before treating. Powdery and downy mildew, aphids, leafminers and squash bugs are the real concerns.

Give it full sun, which Gulf News' UAE guide lists for zucchini, tomatoes and peppers, and a raised bed of sweet soil and compost. UF/IFAS spaces plants 2 feet (about 60 cm) apart in rows 3 feet (about 90 cm) apart, plants seed 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 4 cm) deep, and says four to six plants feed a family of four. Mulch conserves moisture and keeps fruit out of the dirt. Cut the fruit with an inch or two of stem, and often, because frequent harvesting keeps the plant producing. FAO rates zucchini as moderately tolerant of salt, with a threshold near 4.9 dS/m, better than most vegetables.