Zucchini and squash originated in the Americas

Season SteppSpartanburg Herald-Journal
Published: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 7:18 p.m.

One of the greatest things about our area is how easily we can raise successful vegetable gardens.

Especially in economic times like these, more and more people are relying on these gardens to supplement their diets. Fresh vegetables can be expensive, and who wants to eat vegetables shipped in from South America when you can enjoy produce from your own backyard?

Last year was my first year gardening, and it flourished more than I had expected. The extreme abundance of vegetables such as yellow squash, zucchini and pattypan squash was at first thrilling, but then became monotonous. How many nights in a row could I prepare sauteed vegetables or fried squash?

This year, I’ve decided to share some of my ideas for using these wonderful vegetables in a variety of ways.

Although incredibly popular in Mediterranean cuisine, most summer squash actually originated in the Americas, making it even more at home in our gardens.

Squash was originally one of the Native Americans’ “Three Sisters.” Through the method we call companion planting, squash were grown in conjunction with maize and climbing beans. The corn provided shade for the squash and a trestle up which the beans could grow, while the beans provided the soil with nitrogen for the other “sisters.” The ground-covering squash prevented the growth of nutrient-depleting weeds, and the plant’s discarded leaves created natural mulch.

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