Zucchini
Zucchini is one of the varieties of the common pumpkins. It is a vegetable with elongated fruits of a wide variety of colors. Zucchini fruits can be eaten in various cooking options - from raw to canned. Planting and caring for zucchini is a very rewarding activity, since the yields obtained more than pay for the costs of buying seeds and growing them. From one plant you can get several kilograms of fruit.
Content:
Read also: Projects of country houses for 6-10 acres: 120 photos, description and requirements | The most interesting ideas
plant description
The plant is native to Central America.. Like many plants of the Western Hemisphere, it came to Europe about 500 years ago, and for quite a long time it was grown there exclusively as an ornamental greenhouse plant.
More than two hundred years passed before the gastronomic features of the vegetable were appreciated and it took its place in more than one hundred dishes. First of all, it is dietary and baby food, as well as numerous pickles and canned food.
Varietal variety of zucchini large enough. There are several hundred varieties and intervarietal hybrids. Currently, there are zucchini that can be grown in almost any conditions, with the most diverse colors and textures of the pulp. We can say that any gardener will be able to choose among all this variety the variety that will satisfy all his needs.
Zucchini with flower and fruit
Zucchini is a herbaceous annual plant of the gourd family. It has a branched root system, spreading within a radius of 0.8-1 m from the central stem. The depth of penetration of the root system is about one and a half meters, although in the vast majority of cases the roots do not sink deeper than 40 cm.
The stems of zucchini bear large leaves of a characteristic five-lobed shape. Both the stems and leaf petioles of zucchini have noticeable pubescence. The growing season for zucchini is relatively short - no more than one and a half months. After it, the plant begins to form flowers and forms them until late autumn.
The plant is monoecious. As a rule, each plant produces approximately the same number of male and female flowers. It is not recommended to plant different varieties of zucchini, as well as other pumpkin plants in the same area, in order to avoid cross-pollination.
Zucchini contains a lot of potassium, vitamins C and B. The calorie content of zucchini is low, about 27 Kcal per 100 g of mass, which makes this plant an excellent dietary dish.
Read also: Growing seedlings at home: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, cabbage, strawberries and even petunias. All the subtleties of this issue Outdoor cultivation
In open ground, the plant can be grown both in seedlings and in seedlings. The seedling method allows you to get earlier harvests, however, such zucchini are less suitable for storage and must be processed immediately after harvest: they must either be used for food or put into conservation.
Zucchini beds
If you plan to store zucchini, you should plant them directly in the ground.Planting dates in this case can be stretched from the beginning to the end of May. At the same time, it is necessary that the soil at a depth of 10 cm be warmed up at least to a temperature of + 12-14 ° C.
Landing place
The ideal place for growing zucchini is the southern or southwestern slopes of the sites, as the plant prefers sunny places. The site must be protected from the wind, groundwater must lie low. If the groundwater level is above 50 cm, plants should be grown in beds.
Soil acidity should be neutral or slightly alkaline. Therefore, light liming with wood ash is used for most soils in our climatic zone.
The plant prefers the sun
The question of the predecessors of zucchini is very important. In no case should you grow zucchini in those areas where any pumpkin plants (pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers, squash) have grown before. In order to avoid disease of zucchini with diseases characteristic of pumpkin, you should take a break in growing pumpkin in one place for at least four years.
Ideal predecessors of zucchini are all types of legumes and nightshade crops. Also good predecessors will be onion, parsley, carrot. Zucchini grows well in areas where there were green manure crops before.
seedless cultivation
Before planting, zucchini seeds must undergo preliminary preparation. They must be soaked in warm water for a period of 24 to 48 hours. Some solution of trace elements should be added to the water (for example, Epin, potassium humate or something similar). If such a solution is not at hand, you can get by with ordinary wood ash (1 tablespoon of ash per 1 liter of water).
After staying in this solution, zucchini seeds should be placed on a damp cloth for 3-4 days and kneaded in a place where the temperature will be maintained at + 22-25 ° C.
zucchini seeds
Immediately before planting, the seeds are placed for 12 hours on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator, and then for another 8 hours they are aged at room temperature.
The soil on the plot for zucchini should be prepared in advance. In the fall, it must be dug up to the depth of a spade bayonet and cleaned of plant debris. After that, compost is added to it (10-15 kg), superphosphate (60 g) and a glass of wood ash. All application rates refer to an area of 1 sq. m. In the spring, it is necessary to re-dig the site, level it, and make holes in it at a distance of 70-80 cm from each other. With multi-row planting, the distance between rows is 50-60 cm. In this case, the plants should be distributed in such a way that per 1 sq. m area accounted for no more than three holes.
Hole for planting seeds in open ground
A tablespoon is added to each well about 10 cm deep. compost or humus, which is thoroughly mixed with the soil at the bottom. After that, 2-3 seeds are planted in each well. They are sprinkled with a layer of soil from 7 (light soils) to 3 cm (heavy soils) and watered. At the same time, if several plants germinate, the extra ones must be transplanted. For this purpose, it is necessary to leave an additional 5-6 empty holes on each bed.
Growing with seedlings
This method of cultivation allows you to get a crop of zucchini about 1-1.5 months earlier than when planting directly in open ground. That is, the timing of planting seedlings can be from the end of March to the end of April. Seed treatment before sowing seedlings is carried out in the same way as before ordinary sowing.
Zucchini seeds for seedling cultivation
Since picking is undesirable for zucchini, their seedlings are planted immediately in individual containers.
The composition of the soil for seedlings can be as follows:
- peat - 5 parts
- sod land - 2 parts
- humus - 2 parts
- baking powder (sawdust, sand, etc.) - 1 part
Usually, such a soil has a slightly acidic composition and must be made more neutral.. For this purpose, lime ash is used.On the other hand, since the plant will stay in the seedling state for about a month, there is no urgent need for liming.
The resulting mixture for disinfection is pre-treated with a 0.2% solution of potassium permanganate and dried. After that, it is laid out in pots with a diameter of 6-8 cm or poured into special boxes with cells for individual planting seedlings.
Pre-prepared seeds are buried in the ground to a depth of about 2 cm, watered and covered with glass or plastic wrap.
Seed germination occurs at temperatures from +20°C to +22°C. In this case, lighting conditions do not play a special role. The main thing is to maintain the temperature at the right level. It is not necessary to ventilate and additionally water the seeds.
As soon as the first shoots appear, the film is removed from the seedlings and it is transferred to a sunny place (diffused light). At the same time, the temperature should be slightly lower: during the day from + 15 ° С to + 18 ° С, at night + 13-15 ° С. After about a week, it will be possible to return to normal temperature conditions. In this way, they struggle with pulling seedlings in the first week of life.
Watering seedlings is carried out as needed, so that the soil is always slightly moistened. Seedlings are watered with water with a temperature of 3-5 ° C above the air temperature.
Seedlings of zucchini
Seedlings require two top dressings when growing. The first is produced ten days after germination. It is made with a solution of mullein in water (concentration 1 to 10), while about 50 ml of the nutrient mixture should be poured under each plant.
If organic fertilizer is not at hand, you can use mineral. It consists of a mixture of urea and superphosphate (3 and 6 g per liter of water, respectively). In this case, 100 ml of the mixture should be added under each plant.
The second top dressing is carried out a week after the first and consists in applying 200 ml of complex fertilizer for each plant. It is obtained by diluting 10 g of nitroammophoska in 1 liter of water.
Planting seedlings in open ground
Planting seedlings of zucchini in open ground is carried out one month after the appearance of the first shoots. As a rule, this happens at the end of May, when you can no longer be afraid of frost. The basic requirements for planting seedlings repeat the requirements for growing zucchini from seeds in open ground, however, there are some recommendations that are specific only to the seedling method of growing.
First of all, the depth of the holes will be somewhat greater, since the seedlings are planted along with a clod of earth. In addition, it is advisable to harden the seedlings a week before planting, exposing them to the open air for an increasing amount of time during the day.
Landing itself in open ground should be carried out in the evening or cloudy weather. Watering is carried out on the day of planting, as well as the next day with the obligatory loosening of the soil. In some cases, especially when hardening was not used, shelter for 5-10 days of planted plants is allowed using small greenhouses stretched over metal arcs.
Outdoor care
Caring for zucchini is quite simple and consists of regular watering, loosening the soil, fertilizing and pest control.
Watering is carried out in the evening. In this case, it is desirable to use water heated in the sun. Usually, watering is carried out every 2-3 days. In this case, water must be poured under the root of the plant so that it does not fall on the stems and leaves. At the beginning of cultivation, until the leaves cover the ground with a continuous cover, it is recommended to water the plants daily. If there is a strong heat, it is allowed to water the leaves of zucchini in the evening with a small watering can.
Garden bed with zucchini
Loosening the earth is usually done after watering and consists in mixing the topsoil to a depth of 3-5 cm at a distance of about half a meter from the plant. It is also recommended to loosen row spacings every other time.
Zucchini respond well to top dressing. first feeding, from mineral or organic fertilizers, applied approximately 2 weeks after the seeds germinate. It consists mainly of nitrogen fertilizers: urea or ammonium nitrate (consumption 20-30 g per 1 sq.m) or a solution of mullein in water (concentration 1 to 10, 1-2 liters per plant). Instead of mullein, you can use chicken manure with half the concentration.
Second top dressing carried out a week before flowering. If it is performed with mineral fertilizers, then it should be a mixture of superphosphate and some kind of potassium salt (30 and 20 g per 1 sq. M, respectively). If organic matter is used, then the composition is similar to the first top dressing.
Third top dressing applied after the ovaries appear in the zucchini. It is advisable to use double superphosphate (30 g per 1 sq. M) and a glass of wood ash for this purpose.
- Peat tablets: how to use it correctly, a mini-greenhouse device for seedlings (20 Photos & Videos) + Reviews
- The value of superphosphate as a mineral fertilizer in the care of tomatoes, potatoes, seedlings, and other crops. Ways to use it in the garden (Photo & Video) + Reviews
- How to make a greenhouse with your own hands: for seedlings, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and other plants. From polycarbonate, window frames, plastic pipes (75 Photos & Videos) + Reviews
Read also: 19 The best varieties of zucchini: description and characteristics. Choose your favorite variety (Photo & Video) + Reviews
Diseases and pests
The plant part of zucchini, like their fruits, is an excellent food for a large number of different animals and microorganisms. Therefore, zucchini are often subject to both various diseases and the invasion of pests. Zucchini is a culture that, like no other, is subject to negative impact on their part.
Let us consider in more detail the most common cases of damage to zucchini, which can significantly worsen the yield of these plants.
Diseases
Leaves affected by anthracnose
The treatment is carried out by spraying the plants with Bordeaux liquid (concentration 1%) or sprinkling with ground sulfur (consumption up to 20-30 g per 10 sq. m). It is necessary to process not only the affected plant, but also neighboring ones. In the case of manifestation of anthracosis on several plants, the site is processed entirely.
Treatment consists in spraying plants with a two-component mixture:
- Bordeaux liquid - 1%
- copper chloride - 0.4%
As soon as the first symptoms of the disease are noticed, the affected plant should be treated with a fungicide. As such a tool, for example, Topsin is suitable. Its concentration should be no more than 10%.
The tissue in the area of the spots dries up and crumbles, from which holes form in the leaves.
In case of fruit damage, deep (up to 10 mm) pits with black edges may appear on them. Growth and development of fruits slows down or even stops.
There is no treatment. If a plant is affected by black mold, it can no longer be saved, and the main thing now is to prevent the fungus from spreading to other plants. To avoid sowing spores, the infected plant must be dug up as soon as possible along with the root system and burned. In addition, after harvesting, it is imperative to remove all plant residues from the site and, for preventive purposes, treat the soil with a fungicide.
In addition to the main treatment, which is carried out with the help of copper chloride 0.4% and copper sulfate 1.0%, it is necessary to take a number of preventive measures:
- it is urgent to loosen the soil around the zucchini and remove the weeds
- you should water the plants with warmer water, for example, aged in the sun
- when watering, in no case should water fall on the stem and leaves of the plant
Young ovaries in case of damage by cladosporiosis generally rot completely.
In some cases, the disease can also affect the leaves. In this case, the color of the spots will not be olive, but brown; in the center, the spots will be lighter, almost yellow.
Kdadosporiosis most often affects plants in conditions of high humidity.
Treatment consists in treating the damaged areas with fungicides and a mixture of the following composition:
- iodine solution - 15 drops
- milk - 0.5 l
- warm water - 5 l
After harvesting, it is desirable to destroy the tops of all plants on the site, and carefully dig the site itself and carry out its antifungal treatment.
Pests
Whitefly butterflies on the bottom of a leaf
Before using insecticides, it is recommended to try a simple folk remedy to combat aphids - a soap solution (300 g of soap per 10 liters of water). As insecticides, Karbofos or Phosphamide can be used; the use of more toxic agents is not recommended.
Sometimes infected plants may not have butterflies at all - from time to time they can leave the surface of the leaves. However, there is an unambiguous sign of plant damage - a coating of sticky mucus on the lower surface of the leaf.
Butterfly control can be done by spraying the plant with Komfidor (1 ml per 10 liters of water) or Phosbecid (5 ml per 10 liters of water). In extreme cases, these pests can be washed off the plant with strong water pressure.
Read also: Ageratum: description, planting in open ground and caring for it at home (30+ Photos & Videos) + Reviews Growing in a greenhouse
Zucchini in a greenhouse
Greenhouse cultivation has its advantages over outdoor cultivation. First of all, it allows you to grow plants in colder climates. In addition, greenhouse conditions allow you to get earlier harvests. And they, in turn, make it possible to significantly extend the fruiting period of the plant due to the longer time it takes to set flowers. With the right approach to growing zucchini in a greenhouse you can get very good yields - up to 30 fruits per square meter of the greenhouse.
Zucchini can be planted in the greenhouse as early as the third decade of April. To get early harvests, as well as a longer fruiting time, it is best not to plant seeds in open ground, but to grow them with seedlings. In this case, ordinary peat can be used as soil.
If you plant seedlings in early April, then by the end of the month, seedlings will gain enough strength to transplant them into a greenhouse. Planting in a greenhouse is carried out at a distance of 60-80 cm between plants. If the size of the greenhouse allows, you can plant the plants in two rows in a checkerboard pattern. With this method of planting, they will not interfere with each other with leaves and they will have enough nutrients from the soil.
It is advisable to prepare the soil in the greenhouse in advance. It must be fertile enough. The approximate composition of the soil for a greenhouse with zucchini can be as follows:
- leaf ground - 5 parts
- humus - 2 parts
- peat - 3 parts
You can also add mineral fertilizers to the soil - superphosphate (20 g), ammonium nitrate (5 g) and wood ash (100 g). All application rates are indicated per 1 sq. m.
Growing conditions
When growing in a greenhouse, it is important to constantly monitor the temperature regime.
To obtain a large and fast harvest, it is necessary to create certain conditions in the greenhouse. Let's consider them in more detail:
plant care
In greenhouse conditions, zucchini should be watered with a small amount of water. The soil should be moist, however, you should not be too zealous. During flowering and fruiting, watering rates can be increased by 50% -100% depending on the condition of the plants.
Harvest zucchini in the greenhouse
Stimulation of the growth of zucchini in the first month after transplanting into the greenhouse is carried out using foliar feeding with the following mineral fertilizers:
- urea - 15 g
- boric acid - 4 g
- copper sulfate - 4 g
- manganese sulfate - 5 g
All of the above components are dissolved in 10 liters of water. The resulting solution is sprayed on plants 1 time in 10 days.
In some cases (the appearance of a large number of yellow spots on the leaves), it is necessary to add any mineral component containing magnesium.
first feeding, applied to the ground, is produced approximately 7-10 days before the flowering of zucchini. The second dressing is done immediately before fruiting.
The composition of the first feeding may be as follows - the following components are dissolved in 10 liters of water:
- ammonium sulfate - 25 g
- superphosphate - 50 g
- potassium nitrate - 30 g
Ten liters of such top dressing is enough to water 7-8 plants.
For the second feeding the same composition of fertilizers is taken, with the only difference being that the doses of superphosphate and potassium nitrate are increased by 10 g.
It is possible to produce these dressings not with mineral, but with organic fertilizers. And the recipe is quite simple.: either mullein mixed with water (concentration 1 to 10) or chicken manure (concentration 1 to 20) will be used. With this method of fertilization, one plant will need about 1.5 liters of the mixture for the first top dressing and about 3 liters for the second.
Read also: Physalis: description, growing seedlings, planting in open ground and caring for it, useful medical and culinary properties (30 Photos & Videos) + Reviews
Conclusion
Zucchini are valuable dietary vegetables that are relatively easy to care for. They can be grown in almost any soil and in any climate; in cold regions, the use of greenhouses has proven excellent. With the right approach to organizing the cultivation of zucchini, you can get yields of more than ten kilograms per plant.
Growing zucchini from A to Z
Zucchini: dietary vegetables of the gourd family. Planting seeds in open ground and care, growing seedlings (15 Photos & Videos) + Reviews
- Carrots: description, planting in open ground, care, top dressing (Photo & Video) + Reviews
- Onion - a plant with a spicy taste: description, types, spring planting in the open field and care for it (Photo & Video) + Reviews
- Pepper in the garden. Description, growing from seeds, planting in open ground and care (Photo & Video) + Reviews
- Growing potatoes from seeds: is it necessary? Full description of the technological process suitable for this variety (Photo & Video) + Reviews
- Physalis: description, growing seedlings, planting in open ground and caring for it, useful medical and culinary properties (30 Photos & Videos) + Reviews
I collect zucchini not only throughout the warm season, but also until the first frost. The secret is simple - the right choice of seed. Through trial and error, I found the ideal option for central Russia - this is an f1 hybrid. In my opinion, this is a unique hybrid that will reward any gardener with a chic harvest. The main thing is to cut young zucchini in time. Otherwise, seeds form in the fruits, and the hybrid will cease to bear fruit. As for the place of cultivation, this is a compost heap. Up to five seeds can be planted on one pile. You will be amazed by the result.