Growing Cucuzza with Tony Machi
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- čas přidán 11. 09. 2024
- Tony Machi demonstrates how to grow cucuzza. He brought the seeds for these plants from his hometown of Sant'Elia in Sicily.
You can learn more about this amazing gardener on our website:
www.theitalian...
I received some seeds from a friend with only the statement that it was a squash and give it room.... that was an understatement.... it took over my backyard and then went over my fence to neighbor's yard... its good, very mild tasting....and I ate the smaller leaves and stems
Tenerumi...the leaves that he was talking about. Its made like a minestra in a very light tomato broth with broken pieces of spaghetti. Its delicious, economical and very healthy.
Cucuzza is incredibly prolific vegetable. I grew it the first time last year and was amazed at the amount of fruit produced. We never grew it before since I think its primarily a Sicilian favorite. It has a unique flavor at least to me...quite different from Zuchinni. I need to find more recipes for Cucuzza and also whether the greens need to be cooked or cab be eaten raw. Thank you Tony and Mary!
Yes, Richard, cucuzza are a Sicilian favorite. Mr. Machi was very proud of this unique vegetable that reminded him of his homeland. I believe the leaves are usually cooked before eating.
Saute onion peel slice gagootz lengthwise, take out seeds cut into 1 inch pieces. Fill pot with water just to cover pieces. Bring to boil, then simmer when gagootza tender beat a egg stir soup slowly pour egg cook 60 second more serv with your favorite grated Italian cheese.
(Sicilian peasant soup)
My fav enjoy!
Thank you for preserving and sharing tht knowledge.
I found this video. I seem to be only getting male flowers, nothing with squash attached at all. Does anyone know why, or am I just not recognizing the females?
Non capisco una parola in inglese... Ma come lo spiega lo zio mi sembrava che io capissi tutto .Saluti dalla Germania W la Sicilia
What was Tony saying about cutting the leaves? I have vines crawling all over the place and am tempted to trim them. Will trimming the vines increase the production of the fruit? Thanks!
Yes. When you trim the plant after the fruit. It will sprout more vines that will produce more fruit.
You can eat the leaves. They are really really good. Creamy and sweet. No bitterness at all. Boil them and put over pasta.
He-a say it's-a good-a to eat-a de young-a leaves.
Lol. It's like listening to my Papa. The young leaves at the front of the vine are good to put in soup (or by themselves, cooked like spinach).
Also, he said that when the vine fruits, to count forward past the second branching after the fruit and trim the vine there. Honestly, I haven't ever bothered pruning or trimming. They make so many fruits anyhow, it's impossible for my family of eight to keep up with the produce of a single vine during the summer.
@@iluomopelosoThank you, I had trouble understanding that part, as well! Wouldn't change a thing about his little garden tour, though. 😊
Nice fig trees
Very nice video. The question I have is related to temperature. We have been having 98 to 103 deg days here in Texas. My Cucuzzas bloom and the girls are pretty abundant. I pollinate them as you say, but the sucess rate is pretty low. I've picked only 6 this year. I've had as many as 40 in years past when things were cooler. What is the maximum temperature should I expect to have normal success with my crop?
Yes, Texas heat is a blessing and a curse . . .
Oh, I see I am having the same problem here in Maryland. High high Temps. Maybe that's why I'm not getting fruit
None of my females are growing . they keep dying and falling off.. Was he saying to cut the stem off ?
That means they are not being pollinated. You might need to do what he did in the video and take the male flower and hand pollinate the female flowers
@@natso2001 The female flowers aren't even getting to the point of opening.
@MariThomas01 Are you checking them at night? Night time is typically when these plants open their flowers, and if you don't have any nocturnal pollinators in your area that is why they're dropping
@@natso2001 I checked them at night, but omg, soooo much foliage lol, and the females look like slightly plump fuzzy males 🤣🤣🤣