Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners is a citizen science program





'Zephyr' Squash - Summer
 
Sub-Category: Yellow
 
Sub-Category 2:
Description: Hybrid. Yellow straightneck type. Slender fruit with faint white stripes and light-green blossom end. Best picked at 4 to 6 inches.
Days To Maturity: 54
Seed Sources: Gurneys Seed & Nursery Co. - updated in 2019

 
Rating Summary
 
Overall: (4.9 Stars)Overall
Taste: (4.8 Stars)Taste
Yield: (4.6 Stars)Yield
Ease/Reliability: (4.6 Stars)Ease/Reliability
 
Reviews
 
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Number of Reviews: 17

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Reviewed on 06/29/2018 by Kitty - An experienced gardener

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Yield Yield
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Lincoln, Georgia, United States
Frost Free Season: 183 - 203 days
Soil Texture: Not Sure
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

This is my first year growing this variety summer squash. This is very productive and tasty. I usually don\\\'t get but a couple of squash before the squash borers kill them all. So far, the borers have not bothered these. Also, the leaves have not been bothered by mildew. Beautiful large plants. Best plant in my garden as of end of June. I will grow this again.
 

Reviewed on 04/16/2012 by THISISME - An experienced gardener

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Maricopa, Arizona, United States
Frost Free Season: More than 203 days
Soil Texture: Not Sure
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

I grew these last year and rated them very highly. I did not grow them this year even though I have seeds. Zephyr is a stellar performer in every way. There is only one thing I don\'t like about it and it may not be an issue for anyone else. I have a tendency to let my squash grow a little bigger than most of the gardeners I know. I just can\'t see picking squash when they are six inches long. To me they taste just as good at twelve or fourteen inches long. Doing so causes production to slow to a more manageable rate so I don\'t have to pick them so often. After all, I grow a lot of squash varieties. If I have to pick each variety when they are small it would be more like work than therapy. However that philosophy does not work with Zephyr because the skin gets tough. I don\'t like my summer squashes to have a tough skin which is why I\'m not growing this squash again.
 

Reviewed on 08/20/2011 by endresult0710 - A novice gardener

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Orange, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

Produces an abundance of squash. It has outlasted many other varieties. I am definitely going to replant again next year.
 
3 of 3 gardeners found this review helpful.  

Reviewed on 12/28/2009 by Remmyjump - An intermediate gardener

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Rensselaer, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

This squash is very attactive, green and yellow. It has a fine texture and slightly nutty taste. Great for eating small or large, grilled, steamed or roasted. I have grown it for many years. This is my most requested crop for sharing!
 
2 of 2 gardeners found this review helpful.  

Reviewed on 04/13/2009 by Jeanie - An intermediate gardener

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Dane, Wisconsin, United States
Frost Free Season: 103 - 123 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

A little slower to get going than other zucchini, but once it does you have plenty. Keep them picked at 4-5" for best results. These hold up well to cooking, they don't turn to mush like other zucchini do. Last year I cut them into strips and sauteed them up with onions, peppers and fajita seasoning and served in a corn tortilla with the fixins'. They were a great alternative to chicken or beef.
 
3 of 3 gardeners found this review helpful.  

Reviewed on 03/08/2009 by beast13 - An experienced gardener

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Nassau, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: More than 203 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

Have been growing this variety for about a dozen years. One of the first to pick, good taste, very high yield, unusual green tip on yellow fruit, on short vines
 
1 of 1 gardener found this review helpful.  

Reviewed on 07/21/2008 by Booberry85 - An intermediate gardener

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Onondaga, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 183 - 203 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day

I'm growing this for the first time this year. I'm so impressed! I have 2 plants and I'm picking about 3 every other day. Cucumber beetles seem to have gotten the best Eight ball, but these are planted right next to Eight Ball and are unaffected. Zephyr is as beautiful as depicted in the catalogs and effortless to grow.
 

Reviewed on 05/10/2008 by containergardener - An experienced gardener

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Los Angeles, California, United States
Frost Free Season: More than 203 days
Soil Texture: Sand
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

Wonderful squash. Excels in every way. Although it is not advertised as being resistant to powdery mildew, it survived unscathed while Sun Ray, a yellow squash supposedly resistant to PM, succumbed to it. PM is a problem for us in late summer-early fall, so Zephyr is a great choice for the west coast. It is doing as well this spring in a five-gallon container as it did in our community farm plot last fall.
 
1 of 1 gardener found this review helpful.  

Reviewed on 12/28/2007 by daveydonuts - An intermediate gardener

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Washington, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

I echo all of the positive things said in the other reviews. This is a great variety. I got excellent results by sowing them directly in 4" pots under regular shop lights about 3.5 weeks before planting in the garden. This early growth indoors during the first few weeks was truly vigorous, much more so than when plants are direct seeded into the garden. It got the plants off to a great start.
 
1 of 1 gardener found this review helpful.  

Reviewed on 09/27/2007 by Corbin - An experienced gardener

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day

6th season growing this terrrific hybrid summer squash. The Zephr summer squash and the Fortex bean are the only hybrid vegetables we grow. Easy to grow. Will continue to produce even with heavy mildew. Fertile soil will produce an abundance of bright yellow squash with a light green tip. Very tender and delicious even when large, ( up to 1 foot long and 4 inchs in diameter). The squash is outstanding sliced 1/4 thick and pan fried in olive oil with onion, garlic, rosemary and black pepper.
 
1 of 1 gardener found this review helpful.  

Reviewed on 02/24/2007 by stepmc10 -

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Shelby, Tennessee, United States
Frost Free Season:
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So impressive in appearance and taste! My yield my have been lower than expected due to cramped space in a small raised bed. Definitely worth trying if you've never tasted this one.
 
2 of 2 gardeners found this review helpful.  

Reviewed on 01/13/2007 by Grean - An intermediate gardener

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Fulton, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Sand
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

I grew this very tasty summer squash in 2006 and I was very pleased with the beauty, taste and ease of culture. The yield was not as high as I would have liked but I think that is because it was so good that even my son who dislikes summer squash ate them. Raw in salads, lightly steamed with some herbs and butter or cooked with mixed vegetables they were a hit. I should add that I neglected these plants terribly for the entire month of July and they still produced and were not bothered by insects or mildew later in the season when I assumed I would pay for my neglect.
 

Reviewed on 11/06/2006 by starwoodfarm - An experienced gardener

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Baker, Oregon, United States
Frost Free Season: Fewer than 103 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

The taste is out of this world good. And they are really beautiful. I just wish I could get more of them. I think I had pollination problems. There's always next year.
 
2 of 2 gardeners found this review helpful.  

Reviewed on 07/21/2006 by bugsy - An intermediate gardener

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Orange, California, United States
Frost Free Season: More than 203 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

Definitely our favorite squash to eat raw. Fruit is absolutely beautiful when they are young and draws a lot of comments from others. You can train the vine up something as it has only one or two slow creeping leaders. Yield was only so-so for me. Plant was vulnerable to powdery mildew in my area (Southern California). Seed is expensive. However, still one of our favorites.
 
1 of 1 gardener found this review helpful.  

Reviewed on 05/23/2006 by Rudi - An experienced gardener

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Washington, Rhode Island, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day

The best tasting summer squash--attractive too
 

Reviewed on 04/10/2005 by old4garden - An intermediate gardener

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Wyoming, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 103 - 123 days
Soil Texture: Sand
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

Summer squash is easy to grow but this is the easiest. The yield is great, I've had no trouble with mildew and the taste is much better then yellow summer squash. And they look so pretty. Must use when young.
 

Reviewed on 10/08/2004 by Debby J - An experienced gardener

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Washington, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day

Zephyr is a squash that tastes good on its own, unlike some summer squashes that just seem like fillers. It also is very ornamental. Much more prolific than our zukes. The only drawbacks: need to use when quite small or it gets hard, and there always seem to be some plain yellow off-types in the packet. I haven't found any way to ID these types until they start to produce. The off-types taste fine, though.
 




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