(Uh, oh. 2 of us responding at the same time!)

Those are multiple seedlings, far too many for a single pot. (You only need one per pot; ultimately 20-inch diameter.)

Did you water?

If not, do so.

After the seedlings perk up, snip off all but 2.

Allow those 2 to grow a bit, then snip off the weakest one.

See this info from Cornell University about growing zucchini:

http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening/scene6420.html

Yes, watering

Thank you both so much for your help!!!

by snip you mean I just cut them as far to the soil as possible? Is that better to do than disturbing the roots by taking them out again?

its about 80 degrees here in NYC the last couple of days and 70's at night with lots of humidity. I assumed this is ok size for a plant to be outdoors. The nursery also informed me this is ok to do so.

I suggest you dig into the soil and see for yourself if it is completely moist. Sometimes it can be hydrophobic and won't soak up the water you give. Or in other words, it can look moist on the surface but be dry underneath.

You could separate them but I'd just snip them off. I would also add some more mix and cover up some of those bare stems.

Rodney

Thank you Rodney! I'll snip them off and cover with more soil. Should I leave 2 as noted above and then kill off the weaker plant? When would I know to do this?

You can snip, in which case you lose some plants, or separate, in which case you keep all of them. Your choice.

Are these outdoors? If not, they'll need hardening off before going out.

Another lesson from this is not to plant seedlings right on top of each other. If you put six seeds in one hole, as it appears you've done, you're going to have six plants coming out of that hole, each of which would fill that whole pot and a lot more. That will make separation of the plants without damaging the roots very hard to do. The roots of your plants are all tangled up. If you plan to put a bunch of plants in one pot, with the idea that you're eventually going to separate them, at least spread them out.

I suspect that they're so tangled up that separation won't be smart. Snip away.

my suggestion is just to go buy a packet of zucchini seeds, and start over. Those look very leggy already and will never develop into healthy plants. If you plant a seed, it will spout pretty fast in warm weather. A healthy seedling that gets good sunlight will have a very short stem. It should only be like an inch at most, and thicker. Your seedlings were too crowded and probably got insufficient light when they sprouted.

Fill your pot up with potting mix. It should only be a half inch to an inch below the top rim so there will be more room for roots to grow throughout the season. If you are going to keep one or two of the plants you already have without replanting, hold the chosen one or two upright while you add soil to cover the stems to just below the leaves. The potting mix may not reach close to the top rim, but it will be better than it is now. Other posts have good advice on reducing the number of plants in your pot.

^I was just going to mention that...filling a pot half way is similar to using too small a pot...they don't have enough soil to grow a good root system and to reach their full potential.

Hey all!

thank you all for your suggestions. I followed as some have mentioned and snipped off all but two plants.

Both plants seem to be doing very well! Now I'm just wondering, when should I snip off the weaker one? Is this the right time? I can tell one is faster/bigger than the other?

thabk you for all of your help!

Now is the time, past time actually, to snip off one and then transplant the remaining one to a much bigger container that is at least 20" in diameter as mentioned above and equally deep. If you wanted to keep both you'd need something the size of a big whiskey barrel. Zucchini plants are easily 3-4 feet wide when mature.

Dave

Thanks!

my container is 20" in diameter so I think I'm ok with that.

Then you still need to fill it up with mix.

Dave

I did after I snipped. I now have about 1.5 inch left after measuring. Will add more in a few days.

I don't know how many people are in your family (or your neighborhood), but 1-2 plants are usually too much for this vege eating family of 2 (+ neighbors, friends, co-workers, homeless guys on the street)

6 will feed the neighborhood!

Nancy

P.S. August 8th is leave a zucchini on your neighbor's porch day!