To increase the yield and get tasty fruits, you need to know the rules on how best to form zucchini in open ground. Some zucchini varieties do not need this procedure at all. In addition to the formation of the bush, there are other care recommendations that should be taken into account during cultivation. If the plant is pinched, then another question arises: whether the procedure should be repeated next time.
What type of plant should I plant?
All varieties and hybrids can be divided into two large groups: zucchini and white-fruited zucchini. Zucchini is characterized by high productivity and early ripening.The fruits have thin skin and juicy pulp, which contains practically no seeds. Later, white-fruited zucchini begins to ripen. The plant has better frost resistance and the fruits ripen faster.
The best zucchini seeds can be chosen from both bush varieties and climbing varieties.
Bush varieties of zucchini (Aeronaut, Bely, Dinar, Ronde, Anchor, Cavili) require a small area for cultivation. Seeds can be planted at a distance of 60–70 cm. The crop is easy to care for; no shaping is required.
Climbing varieties of zucchini form long vines (up to several meters). Despite the fact that bush varieties are easier to care for, many summer residents plant the climbing type of zucchini because of its juicy and tasty fruits. Popular varieties include: Long-fruited, Vodopad, Aral, Gribovsky, Nemchinovsky, Karam. To prevent the lashes from spreading, you need to know how to properly form the stem. It is advisable to plant zucchini seeds at a distance of at least 130 cm.
Growing in open ground
For growing and forming zucchini in open ground, loose, light, black soil with a sufficient amount of microelements is suitable. If the soil is acidic and waterlogged, then there will not be a good harvest. In the case where the soil is sandy, magnesium fertilizers are applied.
Soil preparation begins in the fall. It is carefully dug up to a depth of 25 cm, harrowed and fertilized. A mixture of potassium sulfate and superphosphate is ideal.
In spring, the soil on the site needs to be dug up again to a depth of 15 cm and ammonium nitrate added. Use a rake to loosen the top layer of soil. The distance between the furrows is about 100 cm.
The best predecessors for zucchini are cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, and onions.After pumpkin crops, such as squash, pumpkins or cucumbers, zucchini cannot be grown.
Zucchini develops well at an air temperature of about 22 degrees. It is worth carefully monitoring the watering regime. Excessive moisture leads to rot. It is better to dry out the soil in the beds where zucchini grows than to overwater it.
Grow zucchini This can be done by sowing seeds in open ground or a greenhouse, or by transplanting sprouted sprouts. Best grown through seedlings. In this case, the zucchini will ripen much earlier.
Planting seedlings
To plant zucchini seedlings, use sand and peat soil. You can mix sawdust, turf soil, peat and add compost. To obtain an early harvest, seeds are sown from the end of April to the beginning of May. If you need to harvest a late harvest, it is better to sow in mid-July.
Seeds must be treated before sowing. First, they are filled with hot water for 5–6 hours, and then placed in cold water for 5 minutes. Kalanchoe or aloe juice, as well as a weak solution of potassium permanganate, are suitable for disinfecting the surface of seeds. To increase the likelihood of germination, many summer residents germinate seeds.
To grow zucchini seedlings, it is better to choose separate containers; the ideal option is a peat pot, since the plant does not tolerate transplantation well. The germinated seed is planted to a depth of 2–3 cm and covered with soil.
The first fertilizing is carried out a week after sowing. You can add superphosphate with urea. After another 10–12 days, re-feeding is carried out. You can add nitrophoska and wood ash. Zucchini seedlings should be watered every 5-6 days with warm water.
Transplanting seedlings into open ground begins from the moment when three leaves appear on the sprouts.Wells are prepared in advance on the site and watered with warm water. Then peat cups with sprouts are deepened into them until the first leaves.
When planting zucchini, you need to follow a certain pattern so that in the future it will be convenient to care for the vegetable and carry out the formation of the stem. If zucchini seeds with spreading vines are planted, the distance should be at least one meter. In the case of planting bush varieties, the distance can be reduced to 70 cm.
In order not to confuse zucchini seedlings with pumpkin or cucumber seedlings, you need to know the distinguishing features. The signs of how to recognize squash seedlings are as follows: long cotyledon leaves, the first leaves are thin with carved edges, the color is pale green, the stems are elongated.
Basic rules of care
To get a rich and high-quality harvest during the zucchini growing period, it is important to follow some care rules. Vegetables need to be watered correctly, weeding and loosening the beds on time, forming canes, applying fertilizers, and preventing the development of diseases and pests.
To get a good harvest and reduce the likelihood of infection with fungal diseases, it is important to properly form the zucchini bush. The formed bush develops better, since sunlight freely penetrates to all parts of the plant, and pollinating insects have access to the flowers.
Watering
Watering zucchini should not be too frequent. You need to water abundantly with warm, settled water, at least +20 degrees. The soil should be saturated to 40–45 cm.
- Young shoots are watered every 3-4 days.
- During flowering, it is recommended to water the soil twice a week; after the procedure, you need to loosen the soil, preventing the formation of a crust. For 1 sq. m uses about 10 liters of water.
- During the period of formation and ripening of the vegetable, it is recommended to irrigate the beds once every 6–7 days. Amount of water per 1 sq. m increases to 20 liters.
- Watering is stopped 10 days before harvest.
Excess moisture leads to the development of diseases, fruits lose their ability to be stored for a long time and taste quality decreases. If there is not enough water, the taste of the zucchini pulp becomes bitter.
Maintenance in open ground is not complete without the application of fertilizers. Zucchini needs them throughout the growing season (especially during flowering). A warm solution of organic or mineral components should be watered at the root in the morning or evening hours.
Feeding
Feeding zucchini increases productivity by 70–80%! Feeding is carried out at least three times per season:
- The first feeding is carried out after unfolding the seventh sheet. A mixture of ammonium nitrate, potassium sulfate and superphosphate is suitable.
- During the period of active flowering, it is useful to make a solution of mullein and nitrophoska.
- During the formation of ovaries, it is useful to apply organic fertilizers. For example, a solution of mullein or bird droppings.
- At the beginning of fruiting, it is useful to make a solution based on wood ash.
For zucchini, both a lack of microelements and their excess are harmful. Therefore, it is important to maintain proportions when breeding and alternate mineral supplements with organic components.
Topping
Whether it is necessary to pinch zucchini in open ground depends on the variety. Zucchini and zucchini of bush and self-pollinating varieties do not need pinching. Their fruits are formed on the central stem. The main thing is to collect ripe zucchini on time. Their length should be about 15 cm. Harvesting is carried out twice a week.Frequent picking of fruits stimulates the formation of new ovaries.
If the zucchini bushes have grown greatly, you can remove a couple of leaves so that light and heat can penetrate to the stem without obstacles. It is better to do this during the fruiting period in the places where the fruits are formed.
To carry out the procedure, you need to correctly determine the time when to form the zucchini. For each bush of climbing varieties, pinch the top above 5–6 leaves. Some vegetable growers also remove part of the main stem during the period of bud formation. By this time there are already several side shoots.
Fighting powdery mildew
Diseases of zucchini in open ground include: apical bacteriosis, anthracnose, rot, fusarium, cucumber mosaic. But powdery mildew is the most common. The main sign of a fungal disease is the appearance of a white coating on the leaves. Gradually they curl, turn yellow and dry out.
The fight against powdery mildew consists of proper watering and balanced application of nitrogen fertilizers. The affected leaves are removed, and all beds are treated with fungicides (Quadris, Topaz, Fundazol).
Pests can be found on zucchini seedlings and adult plants. This could be a spider mite, melon aphid, sprout fly, or whitefly. The main preventive measure is digging up the soil in the fall, treating seeds and destroying plant residues from the beds.
Planting zucchini
Zucchini is often thought of as a squash, but this vegetable is a type of pumpkin. It has a number of advantages: the bushes are compact, there are no large, spreading lashes, the leaves are smooth and non-thorny. There is no point in growing zucchini in open ground. Otherwise, growing and caring for is no different from zucchini.
