And you thought your itty bitty zucchini plant would never fill the space

So we've made it through the first influx of cucumber beetles, and a flood, and a late cold spring, and now your zucchini are out of control.

What to do?

You can prune vining veg (like cucumbers or melon), by making a diagonal cut right above a set of leaves. Zucchini plants are more like long stalks with leaves on the end (bushes, rather than true vines), so while you can just chop wandering leaves, there are other things to try.

While I don't generally allow fences around your garden plots, I'll modify the rule to help you corral your bushy friends. Try a pea fence between your plot and the next to keep your zuke in line.

This type of fence is terrific to use first for cool-season peas, and then to keep summer veg in line. Be sure it's solidly in the ground, though, because squash are tough characters.

Another thing to try, especially for zucchini, is a tomato cage.

But not like this -- flip it over and place it over your plant, like this --

This is a helpful technique for several reasons. First, it keeps those huge zucchini leaves from shading your neighbor's veg. Second, the zucchini grow around the base of the plant, and they can be hard to find amidst the prickly stems and huge leaves. Lifting and containing the leaves like this makes it really easy to find your growing-over-night zucchini before it's the size of a baseball bat.