Market Report: Zucchini! Zucchini! Zucchini!

A soft spot for one of the Three Sisters, now playing at your farmers market.

Jun 25, 2025

Thanks today for ongoing help from Based in Lafayette sponsor Long Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Lafayette, presenting this summer’s season of shows at Loeb Stadium in Lafayette’s Columbian Park. For tickets and details on all the shows and events, go to longpac.org.

Welcome back to Based in Lafayette’s newest feature, with a look at what’s in season this week at Greater Lafayette’s farmers markets.

By Carol Bangert / For Based in Lafayette

I’ve had a soft spot for zucchini and other squashes dating back to my grad school days when I studied archeology in Arizona. In a cultural anthropology class, I learned about the beautiful relationship between corn, beans and squash – The Three Sisters. Indigenous peoples use this companion planting method because the three plants are mutually beneficial and provide a complete protein when eaten together. Pretty cool.

It works something like this:

The corn serves as the support structure for the beans as they grow and wind around the stalk. The beans provide nitrogen to the soil, which fortifies the corn and squash; and the squash spreads over the ground, covering the soil to retain moisture and stop weed growth around all three plants. I find this botanical teamwork magical.

Zucchini are technically a fruit but are treated almost exclusively as a vegetable in recipes. (Photo: Carol Bangert)

So, I don’t understand why zucchini and other summer squashes have such a bad reputation. When I told people I was going to write about zucchini, every one of them made a face (not the excited kind). In the next few weeks, zucchini will be joined by her sisters, beans and corn. And I say, bring it!

The dread that accompanies this ubiquitous fruit (yes, technically, it’s a fruit) when it’s in season is unfounded, and here’s why. Zucchini and other summer squashes are only a problem if you grow your own. You’ll likely harvest enough to feed your entire neighborhood. Don’t do that. Instead, head to the farmers market where you can control the number of zukes you allow in your home.

The other strike against zucchini is that it’s bland, dull, watery, mushy … you get it. But properly cooked, it can be the star of the show or just as delicious behind the scenes. Now is not the time to turn your back on this in-season workhorse. Take time this summer to get to know this lovely, adaptable sister.

Zucchini is great on the grill with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper; diced, roasted and added to a pasta salad; sautéed with onions. Try them in muffins and breads – they add moisture, a pleasant taste and pretty green flecks.

Chad Scott of Bear Fruit Farm has this take: cut zucchini lengthwise, scoop out and discard some of the flesh/seeds and sear the squash in a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Then stuff them with diced tomatoes, onions, garlic and cheese and bake until golden. Sounds like a winner.

Store your market haul on the counter if you’re eating it the same day. Otherwise, store zucchini unwashed in the fridge in a ventilated bag for one to two weeks. If you see the skin starting to wrinkle, it’s time to get cooking!

Also spotted at the market: Gooseberries, red and black raspberries, English shell peas, and cucamelons (more on those next time). And rumor has it, the first tomatoes and blueberries will be arriving soon.

Other end-of-June fruits and vegetables at the market include:

Red, white and spring onions
Radishes
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Green beans
Beets
Bok choy
Garlic and garlic scapes
Greens (kale, mustard, arugula, lettuce varieties)
Herbs, both plants and cuttings (Chives, spearmint, oregano, sage, basil, parsley, thyme, catnip, lavender)
Kohlrabi
Baby carrots
Salad turnips
Rhubarb
Strawberries

DAYS/HOURS FOR THE MARKETS

West Lafayette Farmers Market: 3:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, through October. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the West Lafayette market. The market is held at Cumberland Park in West Lafayette with more than 50 vendors.

Lafayette Farmers Market: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, through October, on Fifth Street between Columbia Street and mid-block to Ferry Street, and Main Street between Fourth and Sixth streets.

Purdue Farmers Market: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays, through October. The Purdue Farmers Market is held on the Memorial Mall on Purdue’s campus. This market is a concession-heavy market that allows students, faculty and staff to have lunch options in a unique outdoor setting.

Carol Bangert, editor of Greater Lafayette Magazine, has been a regular at Greater Lafayette farmers markets for more than 20 years. From May through October, she’ll scout out in-season produce at the markets and report back on fresh finds and how to use them.

Thanks, again, for ongoing support from Based in Lafayette sponsor Long Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Lafayette. For tickets and details on all the shows and events, go to longpac.org.