Zucchini is a simple and such a familiar vegetable for us. Someone does not think of summer without a portion of fried zucchini with garlic, someone prepares his signature squash caviar, and someone prefers to make preparations from these vegetables for the winter. In any case, it is much more pleasant to grow zucchini in your country house than to simply buy it in the market: in the garden you will grow quality vegetables without any “chemistry” and you will be able to harvest the right size for you. Some gardeners like to grow zucchini through seedlings - then they quickly develop and begin to bear fruit earlier. However, the traditional way is to grow zucchini in the open field directly from the seeds. This is what our publication is dedicated to.
Recall that last time we described a method of growing zucchini in bags.
When can I plant zucchini seeds in the ground?
The start date for planting zucchini seeds varies from the climatic zone in which the land is located. It is important that the threat of spring frosts have already passed, the air temperature warmed up to 15 degrees, and summer weather held for a week. And although weather conditions vary from year to year, most often the described criteria fall in late May and early June.
When planning the planting of zucchini, it is very important not only to evaluate the current weather, but also to look at the weather forecast. If early vegetables are planted in the earth moist after snow melts, then seeds of heat-loving plants are not so lucky: by the end of spring the earth can become dry without rains, and sandy soil can turn into “dust”. So the ideal time for planting zucchini seeds in the ground is a warm day on the eve of several rainy days.
How to process zucchini seeds before planting?
Zucchini seeds do not require any special “chemistry”. Of course, if you do not dream of a giant crop and do not think that all means are good for achieving this goal. For greater "vitality" squash seeds before planting need to be soaked for a day - that's all. This is done in order to stimulate the germination of zucchini - the separation of the stem from the cusps of the seed.
Soak the seeds not "with the head", but very modestly. Ideally, for this you need to take a bowl or a mug, pour seeds into a bowl and cover them with a cotton pad well moistened with water. Thus, the seeds will be surrounded by water and oxygen - they can "breathe" through a layer of cotton. After a day of such a “bath”, the most active seeds will already show their “beaks”. Nevertheless, even if the seeds have not shown much activity during this time, they can be planted: zucchini sprout in the ground in almost 100% of cases.
How to grow zucchini in the open ground - instructions
1. Use a rag or other convenient tool to make zucchini holes in the ground. They are best done with squares of 50 by 70 cm (that is, between the rows there should be a distance of 50 cm, and between the bushes in each row - 70 cm). It is especially important to adhere to this rule when planting bush squash - then the bed will look neat and the bushes will come from where to take nutrients for the fruit. The depth of the holes should be about 5 cm so that water can linger in them.
2. Pour each well right before planting the seeds with water: pour 1 liter of water into each well. Wait for the earth to completely absorb water.
3. Put 2-3 seeds of zucchini in each well and trot it with dry (and shallow!) Ground. Most likely, all the seeds will germinate, and due to the fact that there will be more than one in the holes, you can choose the strongest bush and pull the rest out of the ground.
four.A few days after planting the seeds, the first seedlings will appear - strong legs with pairs of cotyledon leaves. If the drought will not prevent the plants (make sure that the soil does not dry out!), In a few days the first real leaves will appear.
5. Care for bushes of zucchini is quite simple. These plants need to be watered in the morning (so as not to burn the bushes in the sun), a few hours after watering - to loosen the soil in the holes. If a dried leaf is found on the bush, cut the sase so that it is not a burden for the plant and does not draw juices out of it for nothing.
6. Already in the flowering period, you can use the bushes of zucchini for your own good. Young flowers of zucchini are used in cooking: they are stuffed and fried in batter or salted pies are prepared with them.
7. Do not miss the period of formation of the ovaries of zucchini! At this time, it is most important to regularly water them so that fruits that love water so much are filled with moisture and become “fleshy”.
8. When harvesting zucchini, remember that they are suitable for food, while the skin can be easily pierced with a fingernail. Do not allow too large fruits to grow: more than half of such zucchini will be seeds, and there will be little pulp left.
Growing zucchini in the open field is interesting and even reckless! Bushes obedient to you and a good harvest!
Also read about planting beets with seeds in open ground.
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Zucchini only has male flowers, why? What to do
Zucchini grows, but there is no fruit - why?