Is it necessary and possible to cut the leaves and stems of zucchini?

Do I need to trim?

Nature always arranges everything very intelligently, all parts of the plant are necessary for him, each has its own very important role in the growing season. However, when growing many vegetable crops, gardeners carry out pruning or pinching to form a bush, to give a particular shape to the plant in order to improve fruiting. Zucchini is not pinched, unlike their close relatives - cucumbers or pumpkins.

Large beautiful five-lobed zucchini leaves are attached to the stem with long hollow stalks, they are light green or dark green, depending on the variety. Shrub and semi-shrub varieties grow up to 1 meter in diameter, up to 40 - 60 cm in height. Long-leaved varieties form one or more lashes (stems), which can be spread out on the ground or tied to a support. But the stems of zucchini are more tender, or rather, fragile than those of cucumbers, so they are rarely tied up.

The leaves create shade while retaining the moisture this plant loves so much. If the bed is well fertilized, the plant has enough nutrients and water, the leaves grow very large and in large quantities. They not only prevent moisture from evaporating, but do not allow the earth to warm up, blocking it from the sun's rays. In such a cool, moist shade, conditions are created for the reproduction of slugs, snails, and other pests. A heat-loving plant lowers the temperature of the soil by itself, thereby weakening the roots. If the cold rain passes or for any reason the air temperature drops even for a short time, there will be a risk of fungal diseases. To prevent such troubles from happening, you need to remove a few leaves, allow the sun's rays to penetrate into the bush.

Zucchini are not planted too often, they should not shade each other, and the bush must be thinned out for this reason. If the leaves are covering the flowers, this is another reason why a few leaves can be removed so that pollinating insects can access the flowers. The ovaries also need sunlight for further development, they should not be closed from it. In zucchini, not only fruits are edible, but also flowers. They are beautiful, tasty, contain a whole range of vitamins and other substances useful to humans.

Therefore, they are added to salads to be eaten raw, they even lend themselves to heat treatment - they make pizzas, pies, soups with them. Greeks stuff zucchini flowers with rice and cheese, then deep-fry them, stew them in tomato. For some reason, flowers in cooking are not yet as common in our country as young fruits.

In long-leaved zucchini, whole branches are sometimes removed. This must be done if not a single ovary has formed on the lash, it is superfluous in terms of growing fruit, the plant spends energy on its growth, which the gardener can redirect to maintaining the branch with fruits.

Video "All about zucchini, rules for pruning stems and leaves"

Demonstration video with an illustrative example and explanations of how it is necessary to cut the leaves and stems of a plant in order to obtain high yields.

What leaves and when can you pick off

Usually, for the first time, several leaves are removed at the beginning of flowering in order to show the flowers to the world, the sun and insects that should pollinate them. It is impossible to pick off the leaves, because the hollow stalks, in the remnants of which moisture will collect, can begin to rot, and this will become a hotbed of infection for the entire plant. It is necessary to carefully cut the leaf with a sharp knife (pruner), as close to the stem as possible. It is advisable to do this in the morning in sunny weather - then the cut will dry out until the evening, which means it will heal without harmful consequences for the bush.

The lower leaves, when they dry out, wither or get damaged, can be removed at any time, this not only will not harm the plant, but can save it from infection or simply save its strength. Damaged, twisted or underdeveloped fruits must also be cut off; the sooner this is done, the faster new ovaries form. It is necessary to remove the leaves that cover the fruits from the sun, so that the zucchini gain a full set of nutrients, they must sing in the sun.

Studies have shown that fruits grow more slowly in the shade and contain less sugar than their lit counterparts. Since usually in summer, young green zucchini are harvested, as soon as they grow up to 20 cm, I would like them to stock up on vitamins and elements we need by this time. By the way, ripe fruits have thick, strong and durable skin, but young ones are easily injured, being in the shade of a bush, they can rot.

To prevent young zucchini from lying on the ground, some strong material is placed under them - cork, tree bark, plastic, non-woven fabric. So they are protected from possible damage, decay, pests. When caring for the planting of zucchini, the owner waters them, loosens the soil around the stems, if necessary, feeds the plants, checks the flowers and ovaries. In this case, you need to pay attention to the state of the greenery and the permeability of the bush to air and light.

If, during such an examination, drying or damaged leaves are found, they must be cut off, if the bush has grown so much that it is always twilight inside, it is time to thin it out. There is time for pruning fruit trees and shrubs, as for pinching and pinching vegetables, but zucchini should be thinned out when the need arises. The plant will easily tolerate the loss of several leaves once every 10 - 15 days, and more often it will not be necessary to cut them, most likely if the bush grows healthy and receives proper care. You should not be too zealous, because the leaves are a whole laboratory of photosynthesis, if there are less of them than needed, you can lose in the amount of the crop.

And, of course, it is necessary to cut off leaves or whole branches if they are affected by a fungal or bacterial disease. In this case, without any pity, you need to remove the infected areas completely, destroy them, and treat the remaining plant with appropriate means that will help preserve it. It is necessary to regularly weed the beds with zucchini, and discard the weeds, without leaving them in the aisles, so as not to create a favorable environment for the development of fungi and pests.

Video "Secrets and Recommendations for Growing Zucchini"

Informative video with practical recommendations for gardeners and gardeners on the cultivation of zucchini.