Each gardener in his garden can grow zucchini. This is an unpretentious vegetable crop, however, to get a good harvest, you need to know about the rules, methods and procedure for its cultivation in open ground. It is equally important to ensure proper care of the culture and to harvest in a timely manner. Read about all the stages of growing zucchini.
Grade selection
If you decide to grow a vegetable in the open field, then preference should be given to varieties that are characterized by well-developed shoots and independent bush formation. They are more resistant to diseases, adverse weather conditions and other external factors. Among these varieties can be distinguished:
- Gribovsky. A variety with an average ripening period that bears fruit 55 days after sowing seeds. Has well-developed bushes with long shoots. Fruits of light color have a slight ribbing on the surface and excellent taste. As they age, their peel becomes dense and rough. The variety is not afraid of colds and diseases, therefore, it can be grown in the suburbs and in the Urals. It is also unpretentious in leaving - for good fruiting it requires only regular watering and loosening of the beds.
- Chaklun. Distinctive features of this variety are high yields and fruiting duration. The first fruits can be harvested after 45 days. They are obtained in white and with a smooth surface. The flesh of the squash is tender and sweet. The culture is rarely infected and tolerates transport to long plants.
- Zolotinka. The variety has a female type of flowering, therefore, bears fruit abundantly and for a long time. As they mature, zucchini become bright yellow, which is what their name is based on. Fruits weighing up to 400 g are suitable for eating. Larger specimens lose their taste.
- White-fruited. Included in the group of early hybrids, which brings the first crop on the 35th day after sowing. Fruits of white color have a smooth surface and compact size. They are not afraid of pests and diseases, easy to transport.
- Odessa bush. Like the previous variety, it is early ripe and bears fruit 40 days after sowing. White fruits have a slight ribbing and a delicate sweet flesh. The plant is resistant to diseases and cold.
- Pharaoh. This unpretentious variety of zucchini, which does not require frequent watering, easily tolerates cold and heat, gives a plentiful harvest. Dark green fruits are long and weigh up to 1 kg. The variety can be cultivated in various regions - from the middle lane to the Urals.
- Pantheon. The fruits of this variety are superior to their counterparts in presentation, therefore they are often grown for sale. It is unpretentious in care, but requires planting in fertile soil and needs to maintain a stable level of humidity.
Methods and terms of landing
Zucchini can be cultivated in two ways, which will determine the optimal timing of sowing:
- Seedling. It involves the cultivation of seedlings, which, when germinated, must be transplanted into the open ground. With this method, you do not have to worry about successful seed germination. They need to be sown for seedlings on April 15-25 or May 1-10. At the age of 25-30 days, at the end of the first decade of May, seedlings can be relocated to beds. They should be covered with a film or other insulating material until the end of spring frost, that is, until the beginning of June.
- Direct sowing of seeds in the ground. A less time-consuming method, however, is the likelihood of crop loss in the event of return frosts. Sow the seeds in a well-heated soil (not lower than + 12-13 ° C at a depth of 8-10 cm). As a rule, this period falls on the end of May - the beginning of June. To reduce the risk of damage to seedlings by frost, the seeds should be sown in 2-3 terms with an interval of 3-4 days. The minimum temperature for their normal germination is + 12 ... + 15 ° C.
When choosing a seedling technology, one should take into account this feature: zucchini grown in this way are not intended for long-term storage - they must be immediately consumed or used for preparing blanks for the winter. If you want to grow zucchini, suitable for long-term storage, hatching seeds should be sown immediately in the ground, around the beginning of June.
To be sure of the harvest and to extend the harvest period of young zucchini as much as possible, experienced summer residents combine seedling technology with direct sowing of seeds in the ground.
Zucchini is the most cold-resistant crop among all representatives of the Pumpkin family, therefore it can grow at a temperature of + 8-9 ° C and even withstand its short-term decrease to + 6 ° C. However, regardless of the planting method, the strongest young seedlings can be obtained at a temperature of + 20 ... + 25 ° C.
Choosing a place and preparing the garden
Zucchini is a light-loving and heat-loving plant, so it needs to be grown on the sunny side of the beds 60-70 cm wide. This may be a small area for growing several plants. It is important that other representatives of the Pumpkin family were not grown at this place earlier, otherwise the zucchini will be sick, giving a lot of empty flowers. To comply with garden crop rotation, they are best grown after such crops:
- Tomatoes
- potatoes;
- cabbage;
- Luke;
- root crops;
- greens;
- legumes.
Zucchini themselves are good precursors for all vegetables, with the exception of pumpkin. Their roots perfectly loosen the soil, and large leaves hinder the development of most weeds.
It is equally important to choose a site where the soil is optimal for zucchini. The best option for them are loamy or sandy loamy fertile soils with a neutral reaction (pH 6.5-7.5). Zucchini grow poorly on peat soils - the fruits are small, and the leaves grow poorly. Unsuitable for this culture are heavy clay soils.
So that the soil is fertile and loose, for 12-15 days before planting, it is worth digging the site to the depth of the shovel, having previously made 1 square meter. m:
- 0.5-1 bucket of humus or rotted compost;
- 1-1.5 buckets of rotted sawdust;
- 1 tbsp. l urea and potassium sulfate;
- 2 tbsp. superphosphate;
- 2 cups of wood ash.
To consume less fertilizer, they can be applied immediately to the planting holes at a distance of 80 cm from each other, and then mix well with the soil. Next, the garden bed will need to be poured with hot water and covered with a film before planting zucchini.
The fertilizer application procedure can be adjusted depending on the soil composition:
- Peaty. For 1 square. m, you need to add 2 kg of compost or humus, 1 bucket of loamy or clay soil, 1 hour each of superphosphate and potassium sulfate, 2 tbsp. ashes. Next, a bed with a width of 65-70 cm should be dug to a depth of 20-25 cm and leveled with a rake. It must be poured with a warm (40 ° C) solution of Agricol-5 or Ross liquid fertilizer (1 tbsp. Per bucket of water) at a rate of 3 liters per 1 sq. Km. m. At the end, it remains to cover the garden bed with a film to preserve moisture and heat.
- Clay, loamy. m enough to add 2-3 kg of peat, sawdust and humus. As mineral fertilizers, it is worth introducing 1 tbsp. superphosphate and 2-3 tbsp. wood ash.
- Sand. Each sq. m should be fertilized with 1 bucket of soddy soil (clay, loamy) and the same amount of peat. Next, you need to make 3-4 kg of sawdust and humus, as well as 1 tbsp. wood ash.
- Black earth. For each square. m fertile soil, it is desirable to make 2 kg of sawdust, 2 tbsp. ash and 1 tbsp. superphosphate.
- Dense, heavy and poor. In autumn, manure or compost (4-6 kg per 1 sq. M), as well as complex mineral fertilizers for vegetables (50-80 g per 1 sq. M) should be added to such soils. It is advisable to pour the garden bed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and immediately loosen it a little before sowing the zucchini.
If a plot of land is being developed for the first time for growing zucchini, then when digging it, it is worthwhile to carefully remove all roots from the soil, as well as to catch and destroy May bugs and wireworms.
Directly before planting, fresh manure cannot be introduced into the soil, since this can lead to the development of various diseases in young seedlings, an active build-up of green mass and poor fruiting.
Planting zucchini through seedlings
It involves the cultivation of strong seedlings about a month before it is planted in open ground. We consider each stage of this procedure separately.
Seed preparation
Pre-sowing treatment of seeds consists in their preliminary soaking for 10-12 hours in water with the addition of nitrophosphate. Those instances that pop up are hollow, so they will need to be removed. When the remaining seeds swell, they can be sown in the ground, but it’s better to soak them for a day in the solution of the growth stimulator Epina (drop of the drug in 50 ml of water). After such a soaking, the seeds remain to be washed with clean water and dried, and then planted in the soil.
Proper treatment will increase the germination of seeds, as well as contribute to the more rapid development of young seedlings.
Planting seeds in pots
For growing seedlings, you can purchase a ready-made soil mixture “EXO” in a garden store. It can also be prepared with your own hands, mixing peat or humus in equal parts with sand and garden soil. As a container, you should choose individual disposable cups with a volume of 10x10 cm, since the plant painfully transplantes the transplant.
At home, it will be enough to grow 3-5 plants. Plant seeds in pots filled with soil to a depth of 2-3 cm. Next, they need to be poured from a spray bottle and covered with glass or polyethylene from above. The protective coating must be removed regularly to air the soil. Keep the pots standing on the windowsill of the sunny side.
Seedling Care
It involves the following agricultural activities:
- Watering. Humidification of seedlings is often not necessary, because the main thing is to maintain soil moisture. To do this, it is enough to irrigate it with warm (25 ° C) water about 1 time per week at the rate of 200-250 ml per pot. In such conditions, properly prepared seeds will germinate already for 3-4 days.
- Temperature mode. For seedlings to hatch faster, the ambient temperature should be around + 18 ... + 20 ° C. When the seedlings appear, it must be lowered to + 15 ... + 18 ° C during the day and + 12 ... + 14 ° C at night, otherwise the plant will stretch very much.
- Lighting. Sprouts need to provide a good daylight, otherwise they will be weak. If necessary, you can additionally use special lamps to illuminate seedlings.
- Top dressing. For the entire growing period, seedlings need to be fed twice:
- On 8-10 day after emergence. Seedlings can be fed with a solution of the drug Bud (2 g per 1 liter of water) at the rate of 1 cup per 1-2 pots. As the first top dressing, you can also use a solution of 1 part superphosphate and the same amount of urea. The consumption of funds for one plant is 200 ml.
- 7-10 days after the first feeding. The plant can be fed with a solution of organic fertilizer Effekton and nitrofoski (1 hour per 1 liter of water). The consumption of the mixture is 1 glass per pot. Instead of this top dressing, you can use a solution of 1 part nitrophoska and the same amount of wood ash. Pour zucchini at a rate of 200-250 ml for each seedling.
- Hardening. A week before transplanting into the open ground, pots with seedlings should be regularly taken out onto the street or balcony for hardening. Keep them in the fresh air for 1-2 hours.
At the age of 20-25 days, seedlings can be transplanted into the open ground. At this point, it should have 2-3 real leaves of dark green color and short squat stems. The root system of young seedlings should tightly encircle the entire volume of the cube and consist of intact white roots.
Transplanting seedlings in open ground
Seedlings need to be transplanted into well-warmed, loose and rich in organic soil. Work should only be done on a cloudy warm day or in the early morning. Wells for seedlings need to be done at a distance of 90-100 cm from each other. It is advisable that an average of 1 square. m beds belonged to one plant. The holes themselves can be prepared in the following ways:
- Fold the annual weeds with a knoll, and sprinkle with a layer of fertile soil 15 cm thick on top. Add 1 tbsp. urea and superphosphate (preferably in dissolved form), and then well pour with a dark solution of slurry or fermented grass. In the end, cover everything with a film and wait 10-12 days for the slide to settle.
Further on its top, and you need to make a hole for planting seedlings. To preserve heat, the slide should be covered with a film, and for a zucchini, cut a hole of the desired diameter on it. When it grows, it will quickly close this hill with its tops and become a real decoration of the garden. - Dig a bed on the bayonet of a shovel, and then add 1 tbsp. To each hole. organic fertilizer Effekton. It must be mixed with the ground and poured with a warm solution of Agricol-5 (1 tbsp. Per 10 liters of water) at the rate of 1 liter per well.
When planting, you need to act carefully so as not to damage the delicate root system of plants. For this, seedlings should be transplanted with a lump of earth, after pouring it with warm water and cutting the pot. If the seedlings are too long, they can be buried to the cotyledon leaves, slightly tilting the stem. As a bedding, it is worth using humus, soil or peat. If you rake the ground from the surface, you can expose and damage the roots.
After planting, the seedlings need to be poured with warm water to prevent it from drying out in the future. Next, the bed remains covered with polyethylene on the arches. If dry winds are also expected on sunny days, the landing must be shaded. If the weather is cool, the soil with seedlings can be covered with another layer of film.
Direct sowing in soil
If there is no intention to grow an early crop, then sowing seeds can be done directly in open ground. Seeds and soil for planting must be prepared in the same way as with the seedling method. Sowing itself is carried out according to this instruction:
- Pour plenty of hot water in the garden.
- Make holes to a depth of 4-5 cm and at a distance of 50-70 cm from each other.
- If necessary, add a little compost or humus to each furrow, and then put 2-3 seeds vertically, with the sharp part up. It is important that the top of the seed is 1-1.5 cm below the ground.
- Water the holes and cover them with earth. If all the seeds hatch, then you need to leave one strong plant, and the rest either cut off above ground level, or transplanted at the time of cotyledon leaves. You can’t pull them out, as this can harm the entire root system of the bush.
- Cover the finished bed with a film or other covering material to protect the seeds in case of a cold snap. Shelter can be removed with the advent of the first sprouts. As a rule, this period falls after June 12-15.
Zucchini Care
Zucchini is notable for its rapid development, especially under favorable weather conditions. During this period, they need to be properly looked after so that the plant grows and forms many female fruits.
Watering and mulching
Zucchini refers to a moisture-loving and drought-resistant culture, therefore, it needs abundant watering. To do this, it is important to use water that has been protected and heated (22-23 ° C) in the sun, otherwise mass rotting of young ovaries in the bushes can be caused. Pour it under the root of the plant, avoiding getting on the leaves and ovaries, as this is fraught with the development of rot.
Watering zucchini is better rarely, but plentifully.Here is the optimal diagram:
- Before flowering, water the seedlings 1 time per week at the rate of 8-10 liters per 1 sq. m
- During the fruiting period, increase the frequency of irrigation to 2-3 times a week at the rate of 8-10 liters per 1 sq. The plant can be watered 1 time per week, but then it will be necessary to increase the flow of water to 15-20 liters.
It is better to water zucchini from a watering can, since under the pressure of water from the hose, exposure of the root system can occur. If this has already happened, then the roots must be covered with a composition of peat and humus with a layer of 3-5 cm.
Zucchini need timely moisture, but do not tolerate excess moisture in the soil, as this leads to decay of the tips of the fruit. In this case, it will be necessary to cut the affected area to a clean tissue, and burn the place of cut on a candle flame, so that the vegetable continues to grow further.
While the shoots have not yet spread, after watering, the bed should be mulched with humus or peat. Due to this, the shoots of plants will not cover the soil, so there will be no difficulties with loosening the soil.
Loosening, weeding and hilling
To get a good crop of zucchini, it is necessary to maintain the friability, water and air permeability of the soil. To do this, after 2-3 hours after irrigation, it is necessary to loosen the soil. It must be neat and shallow, as the plant has very thin and weak roots, located close to the surface of the earth.
The frequency of cultivation depends on the composition of the soil. Especially often, this manipulation is carried out in the case of loamy soils, since a hard crust is easily formed on them, in particular after precipitation.
Another important manipulation is regular weeding, which prevents weeds from growing and absorbing nutrients intended for zucchini. This procedure is very important at the beginning of the growth of a vegetable crop, because young plants will not be able to develop if they eat poorly due to the large number of weeds.
In order for zucchini to form additional subordinate roots, they should be earthed out at the stage of the appearance of 2-4 true leaves. To do this, you need to add soil to the roots with a layer of about 5 cm.
Pollination
A week after planting, the plant begins to bloom. Ideally, male and female flowers appear simultaneously, but if the ovary does not increase in volume after 3-4 days, this means that pollination has not occurred. This work will have to be done manually, especially in inclement weather. To do this, you can use the following manipulations:
- pick a male flower, cut off its petals and apply pollen to the pistil, which is located in the center of the female flower;
- attract shoulders and other insects for pollination, sprinkling in the morning flowering zucchini with honey solution (1 teaspoon of honey in a glass of water).
Top dressing
It is impossible to get a good fruit yield without regular top dressing. For the entire growing season, you need to make root and foliar dressings several times.
The root fertilizer application is as follows:
- Before flowering. Pour seedlings with infusion of mullein, to prepare which dilute 0.5 l of mullein and 1 tbsp. In 10 l of water. nitrofoski. It can be replaced with a fermented infusion of weeds or a solution of Ross fertilizer (2 tbsp. Per 10 liters of water) at the rate of 1 liter per plant.
- During flowering. Water the plant with a solution of 2 s. wood ash and the same amount of Effekton fertilizer per 10 liters of water. Consumption of the composition - 5 liters per 1 square. m beds.
- During fruit ripening (fruiting). In 10 l of water you need to dissolve 1 tbsp. superphosphate, urea and potassium sulfate. Composition water the bushes at the rate of 3 liters per 1 square. m beds. For the last top dressing, you can also use another composition - 2 tbsp. wood ash or 2-3 tbsp. Organic Effekton-O fertilizer on 10 l of water. Its consumption is 2 liters per bush.
If the plant develops poorly and bears fruit, in the fruiting phase it can be additionally fertilized several times with foliar top dressing with an interval of 10-12 days. Here are the options for feeding:
- 1 tbsp. dissolve urea in 10 l of water and spray the plant;
- 10 g of the drug Bud or 1 tbsp. Dissolve Ross liquid fertilizer in 10 liters of water and spray the bushes at the rate of 2 liters of composition per 10 square meters. m
Bush formation
Zucchini often does not need to be formed, but during the flowering period the vegetative mass can grow greatly to the detriment of the fruit. In this case, it is necessary to cut 2-3 central leaves to improve the pollination of flowers with insects and provide better access to sunlight to the core of the bush.
Thanks to this, new ovaries will be more actively formed, which will increase the yield of the vegetable. In addition, it is worth systematically removing aging leaves and decayed fruits.
When the buds begin to appear, zucchini can be pinched - remove the tops of young shoots. When the growth point is eliminated, the stems will give lateral shoots. This will support an increase in peduncles and ovaries, which will contribute to better yields.
When ovaries appear, it is worthwhile to lay plywood or bricks under them so that they do not come into contact with the ground and are reliably protected from decay.
Protection against diseases and pests
As a preventive measure against diseases in the fall, after harvesting, you need to carefully remove the area from plant sites, dig it up and properly prepare it for a new crop, observing crop rotation rules. For the same purposes, after 7 days after planting in the ground, the squash should be treated with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture or copper chloroxide. From pests, Malathion (Karbofos) will help.
Despite the measures taken, zucchini can be affected by some diseases, among which the most dangerous and common are the following:
- Powdery mildew. It occurs in conditions of sharp changes in humidity and air temperature. A grayish-white loose coating appears on the ground part of the plant, which gradually turns brown and causes the leaves to dry. The fruits themselves are deformed and stop developing. With these signs, the site must be treated with a 10% solution of fungicides (Topsin, Bayleton). This treatment must be repeated twice with an interval of 14 days.
- Black mold. It appears angular or round rusty spots on the tops, which gradually become covered with fungal spores, dry out and crumble, leaving holes on the surface of the leaf plate. The fruits will be shriveled and poorly developed. Sick specimens must be immediately removed from the site and burned.
- Bacteriosis. Infectious disease is manifested by oily spots on the leaves, which darken over time and disrupt the integrity of the leaf plate. On zucchini, watery spots and sores appear. In case of bacteriosis, the plant must be treated with 1% Bordeaux fluid.
- White rot (sclerotinia). Mushrooms appear on the plant - a dense white coating. The areas beneath them become soft and slippery, and then harden and become covered with black tubercles. As a result, the plant wilts. Such rot often develops in cold and humid weather due to excessively dense plantings. Sick specimens must be removed, since their treatment with fungicide will be ineffective.
- Root rot. It causes yellowing of zucchini, the death of their lower leaves, drilling stems and turning the bottom of the plant into a washcloth. The disease develops due to the planting of the culture in poorly heated soil, irrigation with cold water or excessive feeding. In the fight against rot, it is necessary to eliminate the disadvantages of care and treat the plant with preparations containing copper.
- Anthracnose. Rounded and yellow-brown spots appear on the leaves, which, upon drying, leave holes after themselves. The tops are twisted, and the fruits are dried. Treatment of a plant with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid or pollination with ground sulfur from the calculation of 15-30 g per 10 square meters will help from anthracnose. m
Powdery mildew on zucchini
Black mold
The initial stage of zucchini bacteriosis
White rot (sclerotinia)
Root rot
Anthracnose squash
In addition to these pathologies, for zucchini, the following pests can be dangerous:
- Gourd aphids. Attacks the crop in humid and warm weather. Aphids suck nutrient juices from the ground parts of the plant, causing damage to the stems, leaves, flowers and ovaries. In the fight against it, you can 3 times with a weekly interval to treat the plant with a soap solution (300 g of soap per 10 l). With a large invasion of aphids, it will be necessary to resort to the use of insecticides (Karbofos, Phosphamide, Decis, Metaphos).
- Whiteflies. Appear on the underside of leaves, mainly in the second half of summer. They leave behind sticky sugary secretions, which become a favorable environment for the development of fungi, leave black spots on the plant and cause it to wither. Pests can be washed off the leaves with water, and after loosening the soil to a depth of 2 cm. If such manipulation is ineffective, zucchini should be treated with Commander's solution (1 g per 10 liters of water to treat 100 square meters. It is advisable to spray the plant after harvest.
- Slug. They need to be assembled manually. If they are found in large numbers, bait can be used against them. For example, you can pour dark beer into the cups and place them around the perimeter of the plot. When the slugs slip into the smell, they will need to be quickly collected.
Harvesting and storage
As it ripens, the crop needs to be harvested every 1-2 weeks to prevent the emergence of overgrown fruits. They will delay the formation of new ovaries, consuming too many nutrients. As a result, this will affect the yield of the variety.
You can collect fruits at any stage of their development. For eating, it is worth removing the unripe 10-12-day ovaries 15-20 cm long. The seeds inside them are soft and tender, and the pulp itself has the best taste characteristics. In addition, the collection of unripe fruits stimulates the formation and rapid growth of new fruits.
However, young zucchini is poorly stored. Therefore, if you intend to lay the fruits for winter storage, then you need to collect ripened fruits with a hard and thick crust, as well as with coarser pulp. As a rule, they reach this condition in 6-7 weeks. The weight of each of them can reach 500 g.
You need to cut the fruit with a pruner or knife on the peduncle. Young specimens should be cut off at the very base, but mature fruits should leave a long stalk. The cut itself should be even, since the shaggy ends quickly deteriorate and rot the entire fruit.
Young zucchini collected at the stage of milk ripeness can be stored for 2 weeks at a temperature of 0 ... + 2ºC. Subsequently, they will begin to fade or become coarse, and sometimes rot. Ripe fruits can be stored for up to 5 months in a dry and cool place with good ventilation. They can not be kept in a cellar where there is high humidity, since it stimulates the development of putrefactive processes. When storing zucchini for storage, put it in a box, laying straw or coniferous sawdust between them so that they do not touch. For longer storage, their stalks can first be lowered into molten paraffin.
Zucchini can be stored in the refrigerator if you place them in a plastic bag with perforation and keep them in the vegetable compartment.
To grow zucchini in the open ground is a task that even an inexperienced gardener can cope with. However, in order to get a good harvest, it is important to strictly follow the correct cultivation technology for this pumpkin crop - from determining the timing of planting work to fruit picking.