Zucchini!

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I'm very proud to present my first zucchinis! My first attempt to plant squash two years ago was a disaster: the site and soil were not appropriate, and my limited experience didn't help. In the end, the plants expired without having successfully produced a single fruit, and after being subject to an attack of powdery mildew and an infestation of aphids. It was sad.

Now, in a garden with a better location and much more sunlight, with a bit more  gardening experience  and a wonderful composter (I'll dedicate a post one of these days to my compost pile, of which I am abnormally proud), I'm finally seeing flowers and healthy fruit. These two are the first ones to be ready for harvest, and we look forward to eating them soon. 

Fun fact about squash: the plants produce separate male and female flowers, and in case there are not enough pollinating insects around, it is recommended to hand pollinate them. I believe the many flowers we have in our garden make it a bee-friendly place, but I still pollinate the zucchinis by hand using a small makeup brush, just to be on the safe side. This site has more information on how to distinguish male and female flowers, and on hand pollination.