I think every newbie gardener is just thrilled to get a misshapen carrot scarcely large enough to make a snack for a rabbit. But as we progress in our gardening, we want bigger. 

Big Vegetables

Take the county fair for example. Folks who enter their veggies and flowers in the county fair are experienced and vie against one another for the perfect rose, sweetest corn, and of course the largest pumpkin. It seems almost ingrained in gardeners to outdo not only each other, but themselves. 

I don’t think of myself as particularly competitive and certainly not braggadocios but I have gotten some really large veggies in the past. Of course, it was purely by accident. 

Giant Zucchini

The largest and most impressive veggie I’ve grown I dare say all growers have experienced. I’m talking the zucchini. My zucchini would have blue ribbon hands down if I were to enter it at the county fair. This thing was gorgeous, at least 3 feet (1 m.) long and as wide as my head; also, not really useful for stir-fry. 

As proud as I was for having grown such a behemoth, I am well aware that the same thing happens to everyone who grows zucchini. The green skin of this fruit blends in so darn well with the plant and grows so rapidly that unless you are checking constantly, they tend to grow out of hand. 

What to Do with Zucchini

At any rate, I did not enter my zucchini in a contest. Instead I got out the rarely used grater blade of my food processor and let her rip. The result was bag upon bag of grated zucchini which I froze and then used all winter to make the most delicious zucchini quick bread, which I did get plenty of accolades for.