How to plant zucchini in the ground: recommendations

Preparing a place

Planting zucchini every year requires preliminary site preparation. The better you arrange the beds, the less problems you will have with growing a vegetable. So, you need a well-lit open area where the wind is not raging. It is advisable that pumpkins or cucumbers did not grow in the chosen place last year, ideal predecessors would be: carrots, beets, onions, potatoes. The fact is that pumpkins and zucchini are susceptible to fungal diseases, which take root in the soil and, when re-grown in the same place, actively progress and infect pumpkin plants. Therefore, every year you need to transplant pumpkin plants to a new place.

Prepare the soil before planting. This is usually done in two stages every year: in the fall and in the spring. At the end of autumn, level the ground with a rake, dig it up. Right now, it is better to add manure or compost with superphosphate and potassium to the soil. For fertilizing 1 sq. m. you will need 30 g of superphosphate, 15 g of potassium, 1 bucket of organic raw materials. In the spring, the procedure with fertilizing the soil is repeated: after loosening the soil, add 20 g of ammonium nitrate (per 1 sq. M.) To it.

Also, it will not be superfluous to use soil mixtures, for example, mix sand with peat. A good fertile cocktail is obtained by mixing sawdust, turf, humus and peat, by itself it will provide squash and pumpkin with the necessary "credit" for good growth.

Video "Tips for planting zucchini"

Demonstration video with tips for planting zucchini.

Selection and preparation of seeds

Zucchini (like pumpkins) is conveniently propagated by seeds, moreover, the culture is replete with varieties, both early and late. You can pick up for every taste. If you do not want to delve into the intricacies of selection, then you should opt for hybrid varieties that grow and reproduce well without undue attention from the gardener. You should not take seeds that are a year or two old for cultivation - they will give a large number of male flowers, but they will be extremely poor in female inflorescences.

From early maturing varieties, the following have proven themselves well: “White Swan”, “Anchor”, “Zebra”, “Kavili”, “Helena”. Mid-season ones lag behind in diversity, but they pay off with a stable harvest already in July: “Macaroni”, “Jade”, “Black Beauty”. Late-ripening varieties "Nut" and "Dlinnoplodny" will give you a fresh harvest in the fall, just in time for the beginning of the canning season. Among the hybrid varieties are self-pollinated "Belogor", "Aeronaut", "Black zucchini", "White".

Having decided on the variety and seeds, proceed to the stage of preparing the plant material for planting. Of course, you can do without preparation at your own peril and risk, but then the crop will also be at risk - diseases and pests are not asleep! Seed pretreatment consists of three steps:

1. Hardening against fungal infections.Place the seeds in water with a temperature of 45-50 ° C, leave them for 5 hours, and then put them in cold water for 3-4 minutes. Treat them with one of the fungicidal preparations, suitable - "Gamair", "Alinir-B", "Fitosporin-N". The procedure should take place at room temperature for at least 8 hours. If you have a dislike for chemicals, you can use aloe and Kalanchoe juices.

2. Seed soaking. Wrap the planting material in a damp cloth, leave it there until they swell or begin to hatch.

3. General hardening. If sprouts have already begun to hatch, then it is too late to harden them. But before the growth begins, you can place the seeds wrapped in a damp cloth in the refrigerator for 12-13 hours, and then leave them in a room with an air temperature of at least 18 ° C.

Thus, you can prepare seeds not only for marrow, but also for cucumber, pumpkin, squash.

Landing

The next stage is planting in open ground or boxes. Here it is important to understand how to plant zucchini correctly in order to get a healthy plant that will regularly bear fruit. The ideal time for planting zucchini outdoors is late May or early June. The latest planting time is in July, but only early-maturing hybrid varieties are ready for this.

You can grow zucchini and pumpkins in two ways by seedlings (more reliable option) and using seeds (less reliable option). When choosing between them, pay attention to climatic, weather, soil conditions, and also think about how soon you want to get a crop. You will need a lot of space for planting seeds in open ground: there should be about 60-70 cm of distance between the holes. It is more convenient and practical to grow zucchini seedlings in cups or tubs.

Seedling method

You can start growing seedlings from seeds at the end of April, so that in early June you already have vigorous seedlings ready for transplanting. The optimal composition of the soil: peat, humus, sod land. You cannot do without fertilizers, here you can use a mixture of 8 g of carbamide, 10 g of potassium, 15 g of superphosphate. It is better to ignite the soil in the oven, and also treat it with a solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection. After that, you can start planting seeds.

Each seed is placed flat in the soil to a depth of 2 cm. If planted in tubs or flower pots, keep at least 15-20 cm between the seeds. It is much more convenient to grow in separate cups. After planting the seeds, cover them with foil to maintain a stable temperature up to 25 ° C. As soon as the first leaves hatch, you need to lower the temperature by 5-6 ° C.

Seedlings need a lot of light, so if you do not have a sunny side, then turn on the fluorescent lamps for 10-12 hours, otherwise the seedlings will grow frail. After 35-40 days, the seedlings will be ready for moving to open ground, but to be sure, wait about 50 days for the plant to get stronger. Recall that the ideal planting date is late May - early June, when the ground temperature is high enough and frosts are not expected.

Zucchini care

It is a pleasure to take care of zucchini, because apart from standard actions, nothing really needs to be done. Every year you will repeat the same care procedures, over time without even thinking about what and why you are doing. It is imperative to loosen the soil to ensure the permeability of moisture and heat, because zucchini are very thermophilic. Combine loosening with weeding the beds, as the proximity to the weed will harm the vegetable by taking nutrients from the soil.

Zucchini love abundant, but rare watering. About 10 liters of cool, but not cold, water should be poured into open ground once every 8-10 days. At the end of June and in July, you can slightly increase watering so that the plant receives enough moisture to gain green mass. However, do not pour in the zucchini - this will lead to root rot, and will also awaken fungal diseases such as powdery mildew and root rot.

Zucchini should be fertilized 2-3 times a year, adding mullein solution, yeast solution or mineral fertilizers to the soil. The first application should be in early June, the second in July. It is especially worth paying attention to plants during flowering and, subsequently, during fruiting. Also, do not forget, for preventive purposes, to treat the plantings with fungicides or iodine solution, so as not to give diseases a chance. The pollination technique, if your plant has problems with insect access (for example, in a greenhouse), is the same as for pumpkins or cucumbers: you should gently shake off the pollen, trying to get it on the female inflorescences.

Video "How to plant zucchini yourself"

A demonstration video with tips and examples to help you plant a plant easily.