Growing zucchini: my many years of experience for your bountiful harvest

Zucchini

Zucchini is an easy-to-grow vegetable. In southern regions, it's grown directly in open ground without any additional seed preparation. In northern regions, where warm weather arrives late and lasts only briefly, the crop is grown from seedlings, which are then transplanted into the garden beds after 20-30 days. To ensure the plants take root well, the soil and holes are prepared before planting.

Growing from seeds

Zucchini can be grown from both home-grown and store-bought seeds. In the latter case, it's important to consider the grower, the date the seeds were packaged, and the variety's ripening time. In northern regions, late-ripening hybrids won't reach their full potential in open ground. It's best to sow seeds of early varieties at 10-day intervals to ensure a gradual ripening process.

Seedling method

Seeds are sown for seedlings in the second half of April to early May. The main advantage is an earlier harvest. However, zucchini has a branched root system that is easily damaged. The plants do not transplant well. This is the main drawback of the seedling method. To avoid this problem, seeds are sown in individual peat pots.

The soil for filling the containers is prepared from peat, humus, and sawdust in a ratio of 6:4:1. The substrate is first moistened, and then two seeds are planted into it at a depth of 3-4 cm. The seedlings are grown at a temperature of 17-20 °C on a well-lit windowsill. To ensure rapid establishment, plant in open ground seedlings should be fertilized on the 20-30th day after hatching.

Seedless

Seeds are sown in open ground, assuming that once the seedlings emerge, the threat of recurrent frosts will have passed. Typically, stable weather in the central part of the country, Siberia, and the Urals typically occurs between late May and early June. The advantages of this method include reduced labor costs and good plant immunity, which is ensured by growing in a permanent location.

However, in risky farming regions, zucchini require additional protection. Some vegetable growers consider this a disadvantage of sowing seeds directly into the garden bed. Black film is used as a covering material, as it allows the soil to warm up better under the sun's rays. Seedling emergence is constantly monitored to promptly remove the cover or make slits in it for the seedlings.

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In southern regions with a warm climate, the seedless method is most popular, since the seedlings do not require protection, and early sowing allows for a harvest in the shortest possible time.

Planting nuances

Despite its low maintenance, this crop has its own requirements for light, soil, and drafts. To ensure a good harvest, consider the previous crops. Cabbage, mustard, radishes, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers are ideal. It's not recommended to plant zucchini in a bed after pumpkins.

Seed preparation

You can sow the seeds dry, without any pre-treatment. However, to ensure quick germination, prepare the seeds. First, test them for germination by soaking them for 20 minutes in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate. Remove any seeds that float to the surface. Wrap the remaining seeds in damp cheesecloth. Once the seeds have swollen, keep them at 0°C for about two days, then warm them up for a week. When the sprouts reach a third of their length, sow the zucchini using the chosen method.

Selecting a location and preparing the soil

For zucchini, choose a well-lit area with loose, fertile soil. If the area wasn't prepared in the fall, dig it up to a spade's depth 15 days before sowing the seeds or planting the seedlings. At the same time, add 5-6 kg of humus or compost with 50 g of superphosphate and 200 g of wood ash, based on an area of 1 m². Fertilizer can also be added directly to the holes (a small handful of organic matter and a pinch of agrochemicals). In this case, it must be mixed with the excavated soil.

Planting technology

Once the site is prepared, field work begins. Key steps:

The holes are dug at a distance of 80 cm from each other.
Seeds are sown to a depth of 5-6 cm in heavy soils and up to 10 cm in light soils. For seedlings, the planting hole should be large enough to accommodate the root system of the seedling and its root ball.
During the first few days of planting, seedlings are shaded, and the seeds are covered with protective film until the shoots appear.

Caring for zucchini

Zucchini plants are watered generously but infrequently to prevent moisture stagnation in the roots. Use warm water. Avoid allowing water to drip onto the shoots, as this increases the risk of fungal diseases. After rainfall or watering, the soil is loosened. Mulching is beneficial, as it keeps the soil around the trunks loose and moist for longer. Peat, sawdust, and humus are good mulches.

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In bad weather, vegetable growers pollinate flowers mechanically and also attract insects by spraying the plants with sweet water made from 5 ml of honey per glass of liquid.

The vegetable requires additional nutrition, especially when grown in poor soils. During the growing season, zucchini requires two additional feedings:

Before flowering, dilute 30 g each of ammonium nitrate, superphosphate, and 10 g of potassium sulfate in a bucket of water. This solution is enough for 5 bushes.
During fruiting, a mullein solution is added in a 1:10 ratio. 7-8 plants are watered with the fertilizer.