Zucchinis on wheels
Fun with veggies at the Saltspring fall fair
[This article was published in the Fall 2008 Due West department. Please be aware that some information may have changed since publication.]
Left on the vine, zucchinis can grow to a menacing size on Saltspring Island. Gardeners can’t give them away and even wild deer won’t touch them. Five years ago, John Unrue, one of the organizers of the Gulf Island’s annual fall fair, came up with a fun way to deal with the abundant crop.
“He suggested we race them,” remembers Noella Fraser, who runs the Zucchini 500 event at the 112-year-old agricultural fair with her husband, Mike.
The green or yellow squash are fitted with wheels and other salvaged toy parts and powered by gravity down a steeply inclined, 7.6-metre-long track. Creativity is encouraged and there’s only one rule: if a zucchini hotrod measures more than 38 centimetres in girth—the width of each track—it can’t run.
“One of last year’s favourites was Hot Wheels,” laughs Noella. “It was a zucchini inside a big tire.”
She recommends choosing a medium-sized zucchini and a good, sturdy frame. “But people work with what they have,” she says. “The point is just to have fun.” Zukes that crash or can’t make it down the track are serviced at the Zucchini Garage. Mike, who owns a body shop on the island, keeps wire cutters, mechanic’s wire, duct tape, screwdrivers, and spare wheels on hand for repairs.
This year’s zucchini crop on Saltspring is shaping up to be a good one, and Fraser is well prepared for the fall fair. Last spring she did the unthinkable and put a few extra plants into her garden.
Info: Saltspring Island Farmer’s Institute (250-537-4755).
