How to grow zucchini outdoors?

Each gardener in his backyard can grow zucchini. This is an unpretentious vegetable crop, however, in order to get a good harvest, you need to know about the rules, methods and procedures for its cultivation in open ground. It is equally important to provide competent care for the crop and harvest in a timely manner. Read about all the stages of growing zucchini below.

Variety choice

If a decision is made to grow a vegetable in open ground, then preference should be given to varieties that are characterized by well-developed shoots and independent formation of a bush. They are more resistant to diseases, adverse weather conditions and other external factors. Among these varieties are:

  • Gribovsky. A variety with an average ripening period, which bears fruit 55 days after sowing the seeds. It has well developed bushes with long shoots. Fruits of light color are distinguished by slight ribbing on the surface and excellent taste. As they age, their skin becomes thick and rough. The variety is not afraid of cold weather and diseases, therefore it can be grown both in the Moscow region and in the Urals. It is also unpretentious in care – for good fruiting it requires only regular watering and loosening 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 white and have a smooth surface. The pulp of zucchini is tender and sweetish. The culture is rarely exposed to infection and tolerates transportation to long-term plants well.
  • Zolotinka. The variety has a female type of flowering, so it bears fruit abundantly and for a long time. As the zucchini ripens, they become bright yellow, which is why their name is justified. 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 harvest on the 35th day after sowing. Fruits of white color have a smooth surface and the compact sizes. They are not afraid of pests and diseases, they are easy to transport.
  • Odessa bush. Like the previous variety, it is early ripe and bears fruit on the 40th day after sowing. White fruits have a slight ribbing and tender sweetish flesh. The plant is disease and cold resistant.
  • Pharaoh. This is an unpretentious variety of zucchini that does not require frequent watering, easily tolerates cold and heat, and gives a bountiful harvest. Dark green fruits are long and can weigh up to 1 kg. The variety can be cultivated in a variety of regions – from the middle lane to the Urals.
  • Pantheon. The fruits of this variety are superior to their counterparts in terms of 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.

Landing methods and dates

Zucchini can be cultivated in two ways, on which the optimal timing of sowing will depend:

  • seedling. It involves the cultivation of seedlings, which, when germinating, must be transplanted into open ground. With this method, you can not worry about the successful germination of seeds. You need to sow them 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 moved to beds. They should be covered with a film or other insulating material until the end of spring frosts, that is, until the beginning of June.
  • Direct sowing of seeds in the ground. A less labour-intensive method, however, has the potential for yield loss in the event of a return frost. Seeds should be sown in 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 frost damage to seedlings, 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 the following feature: zucchini grown in this way are not intended for long-term storage – they must be immediately eaten or used to prepare blanks for the winter. If you want to grow zucchini suitable for long-term storage, the hatched seeds should be sown immediately into the ground, around the beginning of June.

To be sure of the harvest and to maximize the period of harvesting young zucchini, experienced summer residents combine seedling technology with direct sowing of seeds into the ground.

Zucchini is the most cold-resistant crop among all members of the Cucurbitaceae family, therefore it can grow at a temperature of +8-9°C and even withstand a short-term drop to +6°C. However, regardless of the method of planting, the strongest young seedlings can be obtained at a temperature of + 20 … + 25 ° C.

Planting zucchini seedlings and seeds

Site selection and garden preparation

Zucchini is a light-loving and heat-loving plant, so it needs to be grown on the sunny side of a bed 60-70 cm wide. This can be a small area for growing several plants. It is important that other representatives of the Pumpkin family were not previously grown in this place, otherwise the zucchini will get sick, giving a lot of empty flowers. To comply with the garden crop rotation, they are best grown after such crops:

  • tomatoes;
  • potatoes;
  • cabbage;
  • Luke;
  • root crops;
  • green;
  • beans.

Zucchini themselves are good predecessors for all vegetables, with the exception of Pumpkin representatives. Their roots perfectly loosen the soil, and large leaves prevent 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 is considered to be loamy or sandy loamy fertile soils with a neutral reaction (pH 6,5-7,5). Zucchini grows poorly on peat soils – the fruits are small, and the leaves grow poorly. Heavy clay soils are unsuitable for this culture.

In order for the soil to be fertile and loose, 12-15 days before planting, it is worth digging the site to the depth of a shovel, having previously applied 1 sq. m:

  • 0,5-1 bucket of humus or rotted compost;
  • 1-1,5 buckets of rotted sawdust;
  • 1 st. l. urea and potassium sulfate;
  • 2 st. l. superphosphate;
  • 2 glasses of wood ash.

To use less fertilizer, they can be applied directly to the planting holes at a distance of 80 cm from each other, and then mixed well with the soil. Next, the bed will need to be poured with hot water and covered with foil before planting zucchini.

The order of fertilizer application can be adjusted depending on the composition of the soil:

  • Peat. For 1 sq. m you need to add 2 kg of compost or humus, 1 bucket of loamy or clay soil, 1 tsp each. superphosphate and potassium sulfate, 2 tbsp. l. ash. Next, a bed 65-70 cm wide should be dug to a depth of 20-25 cm and leveled with a rake. It must be watered with a warm (40 ° C) solution of Agricol-5 or Rossa liquid fertilizer (1 tablespoon per bucket of water) at the rate of 3 liters per 1 sq. m. At the end, it remains to cover the bed with a film to preserve moisture and heat.
  • Clay, loamy. For 1 sq. m enough to add 2-3 kg of peat, sawdust and humus. As a mineral fertilizer, it is worth introducing 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate and 2-3 tbsp. l. wood ash.
  • Sandy. Every sq. m should be fertilized with 1 bucket of soddy land (clay, loamy) and the same amount of peat. Next, you need to add 3-4 kg of sawdust and humus, as well as 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate and 2-3 tbsp. l. wood ash.
  • Chernozem. For every sq. m of fertile soil, it is desirable to add 2 kg of sawdust, 2 tbsp. l. ash and 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate.
  • Dense, heavy and poor. It is worth adding manure or compost to such soils in the fall (4-6 kg per 1 sq. M), as well as complex mineral fertilizers for vegetables (50-80 g per 1 sq. M). It is advisable to water the bed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and just before sowing zucchini, loosen it a little.

If a piece of land is first developed for growing zucchini, then when digging it, it is worth carefully removing all roots from the soil, as well as catching and destroying May beetles and wireworms.

Immediately before planting, fresh manure should not be introduced into the soil, as this can lead to the development of various diseases in young seedlings, an active increase in green mass and poor fruiting.

Planting zucchini through seedlings

It involves growing strong seedlings about a month before planting them in open ground. Each stage of this procedure will be considered separately.

Planting seedlings of zucchini

Seed preparation

Presowing treatment of seeds consists in their preliminary soaking for 10-12 hours in water with the addition of nitrophoska. Those instances that pop up are hollow, so they will need to be removed. When the rest of the seeds swell, they can be sown in the ground, but it is better to soak for a day in a solution of Epin’s growth stimulator (a drop of the product in 50 ml of water). After such soaking, the seeds are left to be washed with clean water and dried, and then planted in the soil.

Proper processing will increase the germination of seeds, as well as contribute to the faster development of young seedlings.

Planting seeds in pots

For growing seedlings, you can purchase ready-made EXO soil mixture in a garden store. You can also prepare it yourself by mixing equal parts peat or humus with sand and garden soil. As a container, it is worth choosing separate disposable cups with a volume of 10×10 cm, since the plant painfully tolerates a transplant.

At home, it will be enough to grow 3-5 plants. The seeds should be planted in pots filled with soil to a depth of 2-3 cm. Next, they should be watered from a spray bottle and covered with glass or polyethylene on top. The protective coating must be removed regularly to ventilate the soil. Keep the pots on a sunny windowsill.

Care of seedlings

It involves the following agrotechnical activities:

  • Watering. It is often not necessary to moisten seedlings, 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. Under such conditions, properly prepared seeds will germinate in 3-4 days.
  • Temperature conditions. In order for the seedlings to hatch faster, the ambient temperature should be about + 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 out a lot.
  • Lighting. Sprouts need to provide a good daylight hours, otherwise they will be weak. If necessary, you can additionally use special lamps to illuminate seedlings.
  • Feeding. For the entire growing period, seedlings need to be fed twice:
    • 8-10 days after germination. Seedlings can be fed with a solution of the Bud preparation (2 g per 1 liter of water) at the rate of 1 cup per 1-2 pots. As a first top dressing, you can also use a solution of 1 tsp. superphosphate and the same amount of urea. Consumption per plant – 200 ml.
    • 7-10 days after the first feeding. The plant can be fed with a solution of organic fertilizer Effecton and nitrophoska (1 tsp per 1 liter of water). Mixture consumption – 1 cup per pot. Instead of the indicated top dressing, you can use a solution of 1 tsp. nitrophoska and the same amount of wood ash. Water zucchini with it at the rate of 200-250 ml for each seedling.
  • Hardening. A week before transplanting into open ground, pots with seedlings should be regularly taken out to the street or balcony for hardening. Keep them outdoors for 1-2 hours.

At the age of 20-25 days, seedlings can be transplanted into open ground. By now it should have 2-3 dark green true leaves and short squat stems. The root system of young seedlings should tightly wrap around 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 organic-rich soil. Work should only be carried out on a cloudy warm day or in the early morning. Holes for seedlings should be made at a distance of 90-100 cm from each other. It is desirable that, on average, per 1 sq. m beds accounted for one plant. The wells themselves can be prepared in the following ways:

  • Fold the annual weeds into a mound, and sprinkle on top with a layer of fertile soil 15 cm thick. Add 1 tbsp. l. urea and superphosphate (preferably dissolved), and then pour well with a dark solution of slurry or fermented grass. At the end, cover everything with a film and wait 10-12 days for the slide to settle.
    Further on its top, you need to make a hole for planting seedlings. To keep warm, the slide should be covered with a film, and for the 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 up a bed on a shovel bayonet, and then add 1 tbsp to each hole. l. organic fertilizer Effecton. It must be mixed with the ground and poured with a warm solution of Agricol-5 (1 tablespoon 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. To do this, seedlings should be transplanted with a clod of earth, after watering it with warm water and cutting the pot. If the seedlings are too long, they can be deepened to the cotyledon leaves by tilting the stem slightly. As a backfill, it is worth using humus, soil or peat. If you rake the earth from the surface, you can expose and damage the roots.

After planting, the seedlings should be watered with warm water to prevent it from drying out in the future. Next, the bed remains covered with polyethylene on arcs. 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.

Planting zucchini under a film on arcs

Direct sowing into the ground

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 should be prepared in the same way as with the seedling method. Sowing itself is carried out according to the following instructions:

  1. Pour plenty of hot water over the bed.
  2. Make holes to a depth of 4-5 cm and at a distance of 50-70 cm from each other.
  3. 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 ground level.
  4. Water the holes and cover 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 the cotyledon leaves appear. You can not pull them out, as this can harm the entire root system of the bush.
  5. 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 appearance of the first sprouts. As a rule, this period falls after June 12-15.

Care for courgettes

Zucchini are characterized by 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 is a moisture-loving and drought-resistant crop, so it needs abundant watering. To do this, it is important to use settled and heated (22-23 ° C) water in the sun, otherwise you can cause mass decay of young ovaries on the bushes. It must be poured under the root of the plant, avoiding contact with leaves and ovaries, as this is fraught with the development of rot.

It is better to water the zucchini rarely, but plentifully. Here is the optimal scheme:

  1. Before flowering, water the seedlings once a week at the rate of 1-8 liters per 10 sq. m.
  2. During the fruiting period, increase the frequency of watering up to 2-3 times a week at the rate of 8-10 liters per 1 sq. m. The plant can be watered once a week, but then you will need to increase the water consumption to 1-15 liters.

It is better to water zucchini with a watering can, because under the pressure of water from a hose, the root system may be exposed. 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 rotting of the fruit tips. In this case, you will have to cut off the affected area to a clean tissue, and burn the cut point in a candle flame so that the vegetable continues to grow further.

While the shoots have not yet unraveled, after watering the bed should be mulched with humus or peat. Thanks to this, plant shoots will not cover the ground, 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 looseness, water and air permeability of the soil. To do this, after 2-3 hours after watering, it is necessary to loosen the soil. It should be neat and shallow, because the plant has very thin and weak roots located close to the surface of the earth.

The frequency of loosening 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 does not allow weeds to grow and absorb the nutrients intended for zucchini. This procedure is very important at the beginning of the growth of a vegetable crop, since young plants will not be able to develop if they are poorly fed due to the large number of weeds.

Weeding

In order for zucchini to form additional adventitious roots, they should be spudded at the stage of appearance of 2-4 true leaves. To do this, the soil must be poured 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 at the same time, but if after 3-4 days the ovary does not increase in volume, 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:

  • pluck the 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 by sprinkling flowering zucchini in the morning with a honey solution (1 tsp honey per glass of water).

Feeding

It is impossible to get a good harvest of fruits without regular top dressing. For the entire growing season, you need to make root and foliar top dressing several times.

The scheme for applying root fertilizers is as follows:

  1. Before flowering. Pour the seedlings with infusion of mullein, for the preparation of which, in 10 liters of water, dilute 0,5 liters of mullein and 1 tbsp. l. nitrophoska. It can be replaced with fermented weed infusion or Ross’s fertilizer solution (2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water) at the rate of 1 liter per plant.
  2. During flowering. Water the plant with a solution consisting of 2 s. l. wood ash and the same amount of fertilizer Effecton per 10 liters of water. Composition consumption – 5 liters per 1 sq. m beds.
  3. During fruit ripening (fruiting). In 10 liters of water you need to dissolve 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate, urea and potassium sulfate. Composition to water the bushes at the rate of 3 liters per 1 sq. m beds. For the last top dressing, you can also use another composition – 2 tbsp. l. wood ash or 2-3 tbsp. l. organic fertilizer Effecton-O per 10 liters 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 top dressing options:

  • 1 st. l. dissolve urea in 10 liters of water and spray the plant;
  • 10 g of the drug Bud or 1 tbsp. l. 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.

Shrub formation

Zucchini often do not need to be formed, however, during the flowering period, the vegetative mass can grow greatly to the detriment of the fruit. In this case, it is necessary to cut off 2-3 central leaves in order to improve the conditions for pollination of flowers by insects and provide better access to sunlight to the core of the bush.

Thanks to this, new ovaries will form more actively, which will increase the yield of the vegetable. In addition, it is worth systematically removing aging leaves and rotten fruits.

When buds begin to appear, zucchini can be pinched – remove the tops of young shoots. When the growing point is eliminated, the stems will produce side shoots. This will support an increase in peduncles and ovaries, which will contribute to better yields.

When the ovaries appear, plywood or bricks should be placed 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 site from the plant areas, dig it up and properly prepare it for a new crop, observing the rules of crop rotation. For the same purpose, 7 days after planting the zucchini in the ground, it is necessary to treat it with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture or copper oxychloride. 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:

  • Mučnistaâ rosa. Occurs in conditions of sudden changes in humidity and air temperature. On the ground part of the plant, a grayish-white loose coating appears, which gradually turns brown and causes the leaves to dry out. The fruits themselves are deformed and stop developing. With such signs, the site must be treated with a 10% solution of fungicides (Topsin, Bayleton). This treatment should be repeated twice with an interval of 14 days.
  • Black mold. It manifests itself as angular or rounded rusty spots on the tops, which are gradually covered with plaque with fungal spores, dry out and crumble, leaving behind holes on the surface of the leaf plate. The fruits will be shriveled and poorly developed. Sick specimens should be immediately removed from the site and burned.
  • Bacteriosis. The infectious disease is manifested by oily spots on the leaves, which darken over time and violate the integrity of the leaf plate. Water spots and sores appear on zucchini. In case of bacteriosis, the plant must be treated with 1% Bordeaux liquid.
  • White rot (sclerotinia). Mycelium appears on the plant – a dense white coating. The areas under them become soft and slippery, and later harden and become covered with black tubercles. As a result, the plant wilts. Such rot often develops in cold and wet weather due to excessively dense plantings. Sick specimens must be removed, since their treatment with a fungicide will be ineffective.
  • root rot. Causes yellowing of zucchini, death of their lower leaves, stems drilling and turning the lower part of the plant into a washcloth. The disease develops due to planting a crop in poorly heated soil, watering with cold water, or excessive feeding. In the fight against rot, it is necessary to eliminate the shortcomings of care and treat the plant with preparations containing copper.
  • Antraknoz. Rounded and yellow-brown spots appear on the leaves, which, when dried, leave holes behind them. The tops are twisted, and the fruits dry. From anthracnose, treatment of the plant with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid or pollination with ground sulfur at the rate of 15-30 g per 10 square meters will help. m.

How to grow zucchini outdoors?

Powdery mildew on squash

How to grow zucchini outdoors?

Black mold

How to grow zucchini outdoors?

The initial stage of bacteriosis on zucchini

How to grow zucchini outdoors?

White rot (sclerotinia)

How to grow zucchini outdoors?

root rot

How to grow zucchini outdoors?

Anthracnose squash

In addition to these pathologies, the following pests can be dangerous for zucchini:

  • Melon Caviar. Attacks the crop in wet and warm weather. The aphid sucks nutritious juices from the ground parts of the plant, causing damage to the stems, leaves, flowers and ovaries. In the fight against it, you can treat the plant with a soapy solution 3 times at weekly intervals (300 g of soap per 10 liters). With a large invasion of aphids, you will need to resort to the use of insecticides (Karbofos, Phosphamide, Decis, Metaphos).
  • Whitewoods. Appear on the underside of the 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 wilt. Pests can be washed off the leaves with water, and then loosen the soil to a depth of 2 cm. If such manipulation is ineffective, the zucchini should be treated with Commander’s solution (1 g per 10 liters of water for processing 100 sq. M). It is advisable to spray the plant after harvest.
  • Slugs. They need to be collected manually. If they are found in large numbers, baits can be used against them. For example, dark beer can be poured into bowls and placed around the perimeter of the site. When the slugs crawl on the smell, they will need to be quickly collected.

Harvesting and storage of crops

As it matures, the crop should be harvested every 1-2 weeks to prevent the appearance 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 unripe 10-12-day-old 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 do not store well. Therefore, if there are intentions to lay the fruits for winter storage, then ripened fruits with a hard and thick crust, as well as coarser flesh, should be collected. 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 fruits with a secateurs or a knife along the stalk. Young specimens should be cut off at the very base, but in mature fruits it is worth leaving a long stalk. The cut itself must be even, since the shaggy ends quickly deteriorate and rot the entire fruit.

Young zucchini harvested at the stage of milky ripeness can be stored for 2 weeks at a temperature of 0…+2ºC. Subsequently, they will begin to fade or coarsen, and sometimes rot. Ripe fruits can be stored for up to 5 months in a dry and cool place with good ventilation. They cannot be kept in a cellar with high humidity, as it stimulates the development of putrefactive processes. When laying zucchini for storage, it is worth putting 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 dipped in molten paraffin.

Zucchini can be stored in the refrigerator by placing them in a perforated plastic bag and keeping them in the vegetable compartment.

Growing zucchini outdoors is a task that even an inexperienced gardener can handle. However, in order to get a good harvest, it is important to strictly follow the correct technology for cultivating this pumpkin crop – from determining the timing of planting and ending with the collection of fruits.

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Anna Evans

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