Often, gardeners stop at the seedling method of growing zucchini. This allows you to get early products, which is very important in the northern regions, where the summer is short. Growing this vegetable crop from seedlings has its own characteristics.
Selecting the most suitable variety for planting
Before you grow zucchini, you need to decide on the variety.
In this case, a number of varietal features should be taken into account:
- terms of maturation (early, middle, late);
- productivity;
- exactingness to growing conditions;
- pollination (cross or parthenocarpy);
- type of growth (bush or climbing plant);
- taste, appearance.
Did you know? Zucchini is a type of pumpkin and was brought to Europe by the Spaniards in the XNUMXth century from America. Initially, they were grown as exotic plants with unusual flowers.
It is best to opt for zoned varieties. In the northern regions, preference should be given to early ripening varieties with resistance to low temperatures (Rolik, Beloplodny, Pharaoh).
For greenhouses, seed material that does not need pollination is well suited – Belogor, Parthenon, Aeronaut, Astoria, Apollo, Dry, White, Black Zucchini, Cavili. These are parthenocarpic hybrids, the fruits of which do not form full-fledged seeds.
On balconies and loggias, it is permissible to grow early bush varieties that are resistant to adverse environmental factors. These are Beloplodny, Anchor, Roller, Belogor.
In the southern regions, you can grow exotic varieties with a long growing season. For example, the Spaghetti variety, in which the ripened pulp breaks up into fibers or Lagenaria. You can choose late-term zucchini that keep well.
When should you plant zucchini for seedlings?
When planting zucchini, it must be taken into account that they are planted on beds at the age of 25โ30 days. “Overexposure” seedlings should not be – this will negatively affect fruiting. In central Russia, zucchini is planted for seedlings from the 20th of April to May 15th.
For late harvests – from mid to late July. Such terms are preferable for obtaining fruits that are supposed to be stored or preserved. You can do repeated crops. They are convenient to produce after early potatoes, radishes, lettuce and cabbage.
In the southern regions, it is possible to sow earlier in the spring. Check the weather forecast before landing. In any case, when sowing, it should be taken into account that on the day of planting on the street, the daytime temperature should be at + 23 ยฐ C, and at night – + 19 ยฐ C. Seedlings are planted in protected ground 2-3 weeks earlier.
How to prepare seeds for planting?
If the purchased seeds have not been processed, then it is imperative to disinfect them with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes. Then they should be washed and dried on a napkin.
Such seeds are already suitable for sowing, but their germination can be improved by the following procedures:
- Soaking seeds in nutrient fluids or stimulants. For this purpose, a solution of “Epin”, “Zircon”, ash, aloe juice or complex fertilizer (“Nitroammofoski”) is used. Seeds are immersed for 8-24 hours, and then they are not washed.
- Bubbling. Suitable for aquarium owners. Seeds are placed in water enriched with oxygen by an aquarium compressor for 15โ18 minutes.
- hardening. Within three days, the seeds wrapped in a cloth moistened with water are placed in the refrigerator for 16 hours, and the rest of the time (8 hours) is kept in a warm room.
- Soaking in warm water for a day, at a temperature of +25ยฐC.
- Germination. Seeds are kept warm in a damp cloth until sprouts appear.
Did you know? Regular consumption of zucchini in food inhibits the appearance of gray hair. This is due to the antioxidants they contain. For maximum preservation of useful properties, this vegetable should be cooked in the microwave.
Soil preparation for planting
The soil for growing seedlings can be purchased at a garden store, or you can cook it yourself. The following composition is well suited – 6 parts of peat, 2 parts of humus, 2 parts of turf and 1 part of rotted sawdust (wood).
Homemade soil can be disinfected by calcining it in an oven, after which the soil mixture is enriched with nutrients – for 10 liters of the mixture, you should take 5 g of ammonium nitrate, 10 g of superphosphate and 7โ10 g of potassium sulfate.
The technology of planting zucchini for seedlings
Seed material must be planted, observing the following technology:
- Fill the container with prepared soil mixture and irrigate with warm water.
- The seeds are deepened into the soil by 2-3 cm. 2 seeds are placed in each container, and then the weak sprout is removed. If germinated seeds are planted, then only one at a time and with the process down.
- Re-moisturize the landing.
- Then the landing container is placed in a place where the temperature is +18โฆ+22ยฐC.
Did you know? Zucchini contains few calories – 16โ24 kcal / 100 g. In addition, its consumption almost never causes allergic manifestations. This allows you to use the vegetable in dietary and baby food.
Sprouts appear in a week, after which the containers are transferred to a well-lit place with a temperature of + 16 … + 18 ยฐ ะก. After 3โ4 days, the temperature regime is changed to + 20 … + 28 ยฐ ะก during the day and about + 18 ยฐ ะก at night. If necessary, you need to take care of additional lighting.
Features of seedling care
Zucchini seedlings should be properly looked after.
Watering and top dressing
Moisturizing is done as the soil dries out, using settled water at room temperature. Do not allow the earthen coma to dry out or over-water the plants. As for the feeding of vegetable crops, the first fertilization is carried out 7โ10 days after germination.
For this purpose use:
- a solution of manure or chicken manure, at the rate of 1 to 10. For 1 copy – 50 ml of top dressing;
- urea, at a concentration of 1 tbsp. l for 2 liters of water. For watering one plant, 220 ml is enough;
- chemical preparation “Buton” (3 g per 1,5 l of liquid). For one sprout – 1/2 cup.
10 days after the first feeding, re-fertilization is done. To do this, take 10 liters of manure solution and put 20 g of superphosphate, 10 g of ammonium nitrate and 15 g of potassium sulfate into it. You can use a different composition – 3 tsp nitrophoska per 3 liters of water.
For top dressing, 220-250 ml per 1 copy is enough. It is preferable to use ready-made complex fertilizers – Agricola, Mortar, FlorHumate, Hera. After 25โ30 days, when 2โ3 true leaves appear, the seedling material is ready for planting. Before planting on the beds, the plants should be hardened by taking out boxes with seedlings on a balcony or an open terrace.
How to transplant seedlings in open ground?
For planting zucchini, you should select a suitable plot of land and prepare it, and then plant young plants according to the recommended schemes.
Important! Zucchini do not grow well on wet, peaty and clay soils. You should not plant this plant crop next to pumpkins, as over-pollination will worsen the yields of both vegetables.
Selecting a landing site
For squash seedlings, choose a place that is well lit by sunlight and protected from gusts of wind. Suitable for planting a plot where greens, legumes, potatoes, cabbage, onions or garlic grew last season.
You should not plant seedlings in the area where cucumbers, squash, pumpkins previously grew. A vegetable crop is planted on the same plot only after 3-4 years. Zucchini love light loamy soil and black soil. It is necessary to exclude areas where groundwater comes too close to the surface of the ridge.
Soil preparation
The land “for zucchini” is prepared in October-November. Digging is carried out with the addition (per 1 mยฒ) of rotted manure or humus – one bucket, 30 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium salt. The soil acidity rate for zucchini is in the range of 5,5โ6,5 pH. Acidic soils need to be limed.
Loosen the prepared area well enough in the spring. If nutrients were not added in the fall, then this process is carried out in the spring. To do this, you need to add 15 kg of compost, 50 g of superphosphate and a little wood ash per square meter. If the soil is sandy, then fertilization with a magnesium content should be carried out.
Planting seedlings
Zucchini grow quite large in size, therefore it is recommended to maintain a gap of 1โ1,5 m between rows, and 0,7โ1 m between holes. Bush-type plants can be planted according to the scheme: 0,7 ร 0,7 m.
Seedlings should be planted in the holes in the morning or on cloudy days. The plant is sprinkled with soil to the cotyledon leaves and watered well. The next day after planting, it is advisable to loosen the soil around the plants. With the threat of night frosts, the plants are covered with agrofibre at night.
Care for courgettes
After planting seedlings in a permanent place, you should first take care of watering. Humidification is carried out 1 time in 10 days. On average, 10 liters of water are used per square meter of plantings. The liquid for irrigation should be approximately room temperature. Irrigation mode largely depends on weather conditions. In hot and dry weather, they are watered every 2-3 days, and during the rainy season they do not moisturize.
Important! Watering should be carried out under the root, since drops of moisture on the leaves can cause a burn of the leaf plate.
After moistening, loosen the soil and remove weeds. Twice a season, after watering, zucchini should be fed – during flowering and fruit formation. Organic fertilizers are suitable for top dressing – an infusion of manure or chicken manure.
You can use complex fertilizers, such as Azofoska, Nitrofoska or Carbomid.
For top dressing, you can purchase ready-made complex fertilizers at any garden store. Most varieties require pollination.
To attract insects, you can spend the morning spraying with water with the addition of honey. During rains, when there are no insects, pollination is carried out manually. To do this, cut off the male flower and pollinate the female buds.
Zucchini can be affected by diseases such as white and gray rot, powdery mildew, fusarium wilt. To combat diseases, it is necessary to carry out treatments with Bordeaux liquid or blue vitriol, thin out plantings and prevent stagnant water on the site, observe crop rotation.
From insects such as aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, insecticidal preparations such as “Commander” are used. Spraying with an infusion of garlic, onion and a soap-tobacco solution helps well.
Harvesting and storage of crops
It is necessary to collect zucchini depending on the variety and planting time. For longer storage, choose the type of this vegetable that ripens later. Harvest the fruits as they ripen. As a rule, they are ready for harvest 3-4 weeks after flowering.
Important! You need to make sure that the fruits do not outgrow. To do this, they are collected every 2-3 days.
You can pick this vegetable for storage when the peel is hard to the touch, and if you lightly tap on it, you hear a muffled sound. In a cool basement or cellar, fruits can be stored for up to 5 months. Young zucchini is tastier, but not stored for a long time. Fruits of milky ripeness are stored in the vegetable section of the refrigerator at a temperature of about + 2 ยฐ C for no more than 14 days. Then they start to deteriorate.
Zucchini for longer storage must be sorted out, rejecting damaged specimens. Then, the selected vegetables are placed in boxes and covered with straw or sawdust so that they do not touch each other. Fruits can be hung in nets, separately.
Zucchini can be frozen. In this case, they can be stored until the next harvest. This vegetable is great for processing. It makes excellent, well-known, zucchini caviar, they can be pickled, salted, and also boiled jam or candied fruit.
When growing zucchini in seedlings, you need to choose the most suitable variety for this, organize everything you need for planting and plant the seeds in separate containers. After planting seedlings in open ground, the vegetable crop should be properly cared for.
