How to grow and care for zucchini in a polycarbonate greenhouse

Greenhouses are widely used for early harvest of vegetables. Caring for zucchini in your own greenhouse is simple, and the result will please you not only with the abundance of the harvest, but also with its early ripening. Such fruits have better taste than those grown in open ground.

Peculiarities

Zucchini is rarely grown in greenhouse conditions.They are perfectly adapted to temperature changes and easily tolerate various natural disasters. But for a number of reasons, there is still an option for cultivating this plant indoors, namely:

• the growing season is significantly shortened, the crop ripens several times faster;
• productivity increases significantly;
• The taste of zucchini grown indoors is more delicate;
• early harvest is in great demand on the market;
• in closed ground conditions, plants almost do not get sick, and the possibility of pest damage is minimized;
• Zucchini does not have any special requirements for soil composition and temperature conditions, so growing them is inexpensive.

Varieties of zucchini for greenhouses

For growing in a greenhouse, it is better to give preference to bush plants. varieties of zucchini. You can plant ordinary ones, but they will take up more space. In addition, their yield is usually lower than bush ones.

Early ripening

When choosing a variety of zucchini for a greenhouse, gardeners try to plant plants with different ripening periods. The best early varieties are recognized:

• Belukha;
• Waterfall;
• Zebra;
• Moor;
• Karam;
• Aeronaut.

Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, as well as features. The choice should be made based on your own goals and capabilities.

Mid-season

Among the mid-season varieties of zucchini suitable for growing in a greenhouse, it is worth special mentioning:

• Quand;
• Mini Zucchini;
• Nephritis;
• Gribovsky.

The latter is widely used for growing in open ground. Each of these varieties of zucchini differs not only in appearance and taste, but also has certain growing characteristics.

Late ripening

There are not so many late-ripening zucchini for the greenhouse.Basically, they will appeal to true gourmets and exotic lovers. The most common are:

• Spaghetti Raviolo;
• Walnut.

Self-pollinating varieties

Self-pollinating varieties of zucchini are of great value for greenhouse cultivation. Their advantage is that they do not require insect intervention to produce ovaries. The gardener does not have to invent tricks and devices in order to pollinate flowers. Such varieties, as a rule, have the F1 label, which indicates that they belong to hybrids. The most common were the following:

• Cavili;
• Iskander;
• Parthenon;
• Dry;
• Sangrum;
• Atena Polka;
• Jellyfish;
• Squash tree.

In addition to the possibility of self-pollination, these zucchini varieties exhibit increased resistance to the most common diseases.

Growing zucchini in a greenhouse

Growing zucchini in a greenhouse is simple and profitable. But for this, it is not enough to become familiar with the characteristics of a particular variety; you also need to know what requirements are imposed on the structures themselves, the soil, and the features of caring for plants in closed ground conditions.

What kind of greenhouse do you need?

Zucchini is an unpretentious plant that does not need to be cultivated in an expensive greenhouse made of polycarbonate. You can make it yourself from polyethylene and available materials for the frame. The height of the structure does not matter, but in order to make it convenient to care for plants and harvest crops, they make it in full human height.

The passage between the rows of zucchini should be wide so as not to injure the delicate leaves when walking.

A greenhouse of up to 50 square meters is sufficient for growing zucchini.. The harvest collected in this space will be enough not only to satisfy personal needs, but also for sale. If you plan to grow zucchini in winter, then a regular greenhouse will not be enough. You will have to build a good foundation, and the covering will be made of wooden glazed frames or polycarbonate. For good ventilation, vents must be provided.

Greenhouses for growing zucchini in winter are equipped with a heating system. For heating use:

• electric boiler;
• wood stove;
• household heater (only if the greenhouse is covered with plastic).

Expensive greenhouse options include an automatic drip irrigation system, as well as climate control.

Recently, so-called biofuels are increasingly used in greenhouses. Any rotted manure mixed with straw in equal proportions is used as it. This is especially useful for zucchini, since it is not the above-ground part that warms up, but the roots of the plants.

Soil preparation

Zucchini loves light and loose soil with a neutral acidity level or low alkaline. To increase nutritional value and provide plants with all the necessary microelements, add wood ash or compost.

Organic fertilizers for zucchini can be easily replaced with complex mineral fertilizers. The best option would be superphosphate. There is no need to use products that contain chlorine, as it has a detrimental effect on zucchini.

How to prepare seedlings

For a greenhouse, zucchini is best grown in seedlings. To ensure that the root system is damaged as little as possible when picking, the seeds are sown in peat pots or tablets.Since plants tolerate temperature changes well, sowing is carried out quite early, and if there is heating in the greenhouse, this can be done all year round. After the emergence of seedlings, watering is carried out as the top layer of soil dries. Zucchini is kept in pots for up to 25 days of age.

Transplanting

Zucchini seedlings are planted in unheated film greenhouses in late April - early May. If you want to plant plants earlier and get an early harvest, then the soil must first be warmed up. Zucchini is planted at a distance of 70-80 cm from each other. Row spacing is made wide, at least 1 meter.

Pollination

Pollination of zucchini is carried out both independently (self-pollinating varieties) and with the help of pollinating insects. In the latter case, it is necessary to ensure their access to the greenhouse by providing vents for ventilation and using attractants.

Care

To maintain a normal level of soil moisture, it is recommended to mulch it. You can do this with hay or sawdust, or you can cover the ground with a special film in which holes for the squash bushes are made in advance. Through them in the future it will be produced watering zucchini. Shelter will also help provide planted plants with the warmth they need for growth and development.

The greenhouse needs regular ventilation. On warm spring and summer days, zucchini is left open for as long as possible. This not only speeds up growth, but also allows pollinating insects to enter the greenhouse. To attract them, zucchini is lightly sprayed with sugar syrup.

To ensure good air circulation and light penetration, zucchini must be shaped, i.e. remove the lower leaves.However, each adult plant should have at least 15 fully formed leaves. It is especially necessary to do this procedure if the zucchini plantings are thickened.

Temperature

Despite the resistance of plants to temperature changes, to obtain the best results it is necessary to maintain a certain temperature regime. The heat will not benefit zucchini, so at night the most optimal temperature for them is considered to be +18 °C, and during the day - +24 °C. Humidity is maintained within 60-70%. When the recommended temperature increases, zucchini sheds the ovary, and when it decreases, it slows down in growth.

Watering

It is enough to water zucchini in a greenhouse once a week, but you should focus on drying the top layer of soil. It must not be allowed to crack. For irrigation, it is recommended to use soft water slightly warmed to room temperature. Up to 1 bucket of water is consumed per bush.

Top dressing

Fertilizing greenhouse zucchini It is better to use organic fertilizers. Compost, humus, fermented grass, and infusion of stinging nettle are well suited. If you don’t have the time and opportunity to prepare biofertilizers yourself, you can use complex mineral fertilizers purchased at a gardening store. There is no need to get carried away with nitrogen fertilizing, because it leads to excessive growth of green mass and inhibits the formation of flowers and ovaries of zucchini.

Diseases and pests

The most dangerous diseases for zucchini recognized:

• powdery mildew;
• root rot;
• bacteriosis

With bacteriosis, zucchini embryos stop developing, turn glassy and begin to rot.The causes of the disease are high humidity, violation of agricultural practices and irrigation with cold water.

With root rot, the roots of zucchini bushes turn yellow, cracks form on them, and the stem rots. Such a bush is doomed to death; there is very little chance of saving it. Not only the roots rot, but also the root collar. The development of the disease is provoked by waterlogging of the soil and sharp fluctuations in temperature.

Of the pests, zucchini are most often affected by cutworms and slugs. To combat them, both modern special-purpose drugs and folk remedies are used. It is recommended to sprinkle the soil around the bushes with wood ash, tooth powder or superphosphate. Some gardeners install traps in the greenhouse.

Harvesting

Zucchini is harvested without waiting for it to grow to a large size. Fruits 20 cm long are considered ideal. They are delicate in taste, with thin skin. A week before the expected harvest of zucchini, stop watering them. Thanks to this, their taste becomes rich and not watery.

The fruits are collected every other day, being careful not to damage the bush. Otherwise, ovaries stop forming on it. Not only marketable zucchini is picked, but also deformed ones. Overgrowths left on the bushes slow down the ripening of new fruits and reduce yields. The collection is carried out carefully, without damaging the skin. Otherwise, the shelf life will be significantly reduced and the presentation of the zucchini will deteriorate.