Zucchini is called one of the simplest and not capricious vegetables to grow, which can be seen in the beds of almost every gardener. The agricultural technology for growing zucchini is accessible and simple, and does not require the summer resident to have any special skills. This vegetable stands out among the rest with its ideal taste and completely unpretentious character.

The initial stage of agricultural technology for growing zucchini, like tomatoes, is choosing a suitable place for vegetables, since the harvest will depend on this in the future. Vegetables react negatively to sudden temperature changes, so spring frosts can have a detrimental effect on them. Compliance with agrotechnical rules for growing zucchini allows you to grow a tasty and high-quality product that is well stored throughout almost the entire year and is simply universal for preparing a variety of dishes. Today, these vegetables are in high demand due to their dietary properties, and they are also recognized as an ideal remedy for combating obesity. Agricultural technology for growing zucchini involves not only choosing the right location for the crop and purchasing the ideal variety of vegetable, but also following the rules for caring for them.

Preparing the soil for growing zucchini

The initial step in the agricultural technology of growing zucchini is the selection of a site where these vegetable crops will grow throughout the summer season. The site should be bright and sunny, and also reliably hidden from cold winds. Satisfying the plant's needs for sun is a decisive factor in the onset of timely fruiting in vegetables, and also determines the timing of harvesting.

Zucchini grows well in the garden after any vegetables, but has a particular dislike for pumpkin crops. In the area where crops from this family previously grew, it is worth abandoning the cultivation of zucchini for several years, and this measure will also avoid the concentration of many diseases in the soil.

The plant prefers to grow on fertile soil, in which the organic content meets all its needs. You need to prepare your garden space for planting zucchini in the new summer season in the fall. Such preparation consists of digging up the bed well and adding the required amount of compost or non-coniferous sawdust, chopped hay, superphosphate and ash to the soil. Zucchini prefers neutral soil, so if the acidity is high, powdered chalk or dolomite flour is used to reduce it.

After the snow melts, the selected area requires spring digging. It is recommended to simply loosen the soil slightly using a rake. A few days before the time when vegetable seeds will be sown, you need to prepare the holes and lightly moisten them with a solution prepared from humic fertilizers and ammonium nitrate or azophosphate.

Planting vegetable seeds

The agricultural technology for growing zucchini involves planting it in open areas without shelter, however, in the northern regions, some gardeners resort to the seedling method of growing this crop in greenhouses. The use of such a greenhouse breeding method is quite rare, since it is unproductive and requires forced pollination and periodic monitoring of humidity levels.

Zucchini does not respond well to frost, so the appropriate time for planting seeds in the garden is considered to be the end of May, when warm weather sets in. You can sow dry seeds in the ground, however, it is best to put them in damp gauze a few days before sowing and let them hatch. When growing zucchini correctly, to speed up the process of sprouting from the seeds, you can soak them in solutions of mineral fertilizers or use growth stimulants.

Agricultural technology for growing zucchini involves placing it in the garden according to a diagram. This is because the plant is a branching crop that requires a lot of space to grow. Many gardeners claim that the best option is to place no more than 3 vegetable crops per square meter. Before planting vegetable seeds, dig holes 4-7 cm deep throughout the garden bed and pour a little ash and humus into each of them, which are carefully mixed with the ground. Sprouted zucchini seeds must be planted in well-moistened soil, because in dry soil they will simply die. 2 - 4 seeds are usually placed in a small hole and after germination only the healthiest and most persistent of them is left.

Those gardeners who want to enjoy an early harvest of zucchini can resort to another agricultural method of cultivation - the use of seedlings. A special purchased soil that has a neutral reaction and contains a sufficient amount of humus is well suited for this.

For growing young zucchini seedlings, medium-sized containers or peat cups are suitable, where the seeds are sown 20-30 days before the date of their intended planting in the garden. The suitable temperature for the appearance of sprouts in vegetables is considered to be 20 - 22 degrees, and on about 5 - 6 days it is recommended to reduce it to 14 - 16 degrees at night and no more than 15 - 18 degrees during the day. This helps to avoid stretching the seedlings and obtain an evenly formed bush of the plant.

You can feed young seedlings for the first time on the 10th day after sowing and this is done using a solution of mullein or mineral fertilizers. At the age of 30 days, the seedlings are transplanted into the garden and this is usually done in early June.

Features of care when growing zucchini

The appearance of young shoots in a garden bed or planting pre-grown zucchini seedlings requires further adherence to the agricultural techniques for growing them:

Watering zucchini

The best time to water zucchini is considered to be the evening before sunset. To moisten the soil around them, water from reservoirs or ordinary water, which is heated in advance in the sun, is best suited. It is worth refusing to use ice water taken from a well just before watering. This can negatively affect zucchini plantings, lead to the formation of rotting on the ovaries and even cause the death of the vegetable crop.

Proper agricultural technology for growing zucchini involves the root method of watering, during which water does not fall on the leaves of the plant. Before the flowering period begins, it is recommended to moisten the soil around the plantings once every 7-9 days, pouring about 4-5 liters of water per 1 square meter of planting area. Frequent watering of young vegetables can lead to exposure of the root system.

Feeding zucchini

Proper soil fertilization plays an important role in growing zucchini. When young seedlings develop slowly, fertilizing is done using nitrogen fertilizers. Then, when the development of zucchini plantings meets all agrotechnical standards, the very first fertilizing is carried out before flowering with the help of complex fertilizers, and then fertilizers containing potassium and phosphorus can be used.

As the first feeding, you can prepare the following solution: dilute 10 grams of nitrophoska and 500 ml of mullein in a bucket of water, or stir 20 grams of Rossa fertilizer in 10 liters of liquid. Young zucchini are fertilized with the resulting solution at the rate of 1 liter of liquid per adult plant.

The period for the second feeding, subject to the agricultural practices of the grown zucchini seedlings, is the period of their flowering and for this you can prepare a special solution from two tablespoons of wood ash, the same amount of Effekton fertilizer and 10 liters of water. The consumption of the prepared liquid should be 1 liter per young zucchini. A solution of the same composition is suitable for the third fertilizing, but it is recommended to replace the organic fertilizer with Effekton-O. The third feeding of vegetable plantings is carried out during the ripening of their fruits, and the consumption of the prepared product is already 2 liters per young plant.

When using dry fertilizers, they are simply added to the soil before watering the zucchini, and prepared fertilizers are usually combined with drip irrigation.

Zucchini pollination

Even if all agrotechnical rules for growing zucchini are correctly followed, a good harvest is unlikely to be achieved without sufficient pollination of female flowers. For these purposes, it is recommended to free the flowers of the plant from green leaves, thereby facilitating access for insects. To attract insects to planting vegetables, many gardeners spray young crops with a special sweet solution made of honey and water.

If there is prolonged cloudy or rainy weather, you can use the manual method of pollinating plants. To do this, you need to pick the male flower (where the stamens with pollen are located) from the zucchini, tear off all the petals and apply its pollen to the female flower (and this is where the small ovary is).

Since zucchini is characterized by a superficial location of the rhizome, it is not recommended to carry out such agrotechnical procedures as loosening the soil around these vegetable crops and hilling; So, use a wire hand rake to slightly stir the land, make a groove around the perimeter for water for young plants and that’s it.

Harvesting

For the complete formation of zucchini fruits, 15 - 20 days are enough, which must pass after the start of the flowering period. Harvesting begins when the vegetables reach a length of 15 - 17 cm and can be easily cut with a knife.

When maintaining favorable growing conditions, it is possible to harvest up to 15 - 18 fruits from one adult crop, since zucchini stands out among other vegetables for its rapid growth rate. It is recommended to pick fruits a couple of times a week, since overripe fruits no longer have the same taste as vegetables picked on time. In addition, the presence of such fruits on the plant significantly slows down the formation of new ovaries and the growth of already formed fruits.

The ripe fruit makes a hollow sound when struck on its surface and has a hard skin.

Zucchini diseases

Zucchini is no exception to those plant crops that are susceptible to various diseases during their cultivation. Agricultural technology for growing these vegetables involves taking timely measures at the initial signs of disease development, which will help save the plant and maintain a good harvest.

Diseases that most often affect zucchini include:

Anthracnose

Zucchini is susceptible to infection with anthracnose throughout the growing season and this occurs under the influence of the causative agent of this disease, the fungus. Signs of the disease are the formation of round spots on the leaves of the plant without clear boundaries, which over time transform into one single spot. The disease affects most of the leaf blade, and it takes on the appearance of a burned plant. Zucchini fruits take on a wrinkled appearance and rot over time, acquiring an unpleasant bitter taste.

With proper agricultural cultivation techniques to combat anthracnose, carefully inspect the plantings and remove the affected crops. For processing, you can use specially prepared solutions of Bordeaux mixture and colloidal sulfur.

Gray rot

This unpleasant phenomenon mainly affects zucchini grown in greenhouse and greenhouse conditions. The causative agent of gray rot is a fungus that attacks the ovary and flowers. In bright sunny weather, browning and death of the affected tissues are observed, and during rainy and cloudy weather, a gray coating forms on the tissues. The disease spreads very quickly on vegetables and one of its active carriers are insects that participate in pollinating plants and transfer the fungus to new ones.

To prevent the development of gray rot, agrotechnical rules of crop rotation are used, when the crop can return to its previous place of cultivation again in a few years. With the greenhouse method of growing zucchini, the soil is changed annually, and during illness, upon careful examination, the affected ovary and flowers are removed from the diseased plant.

Powdery mildew

With the development of this disease, the upper side of the leaves is affected by white spots. Gradually they become much larger, merge into a single spot and become covered with a white coating in the form of flour. Infected zucchini leaves begin to turn yellow, shrivel, and fall off completely. Fruit ripening on damaged plants occurs very quickly, but they grow underdeveloped and with poor taste.

To treat vegetables from powdery mildew, solutions of mullein, colloidal and ground sulfur are used, and they are also sprayed with an infusion of hay.

Although zucchini is an unpretentious plant, the agricultural technology for growing it requires gardeners to follow certain rules. Following simple recommendations and proper care of this crop will allow you to harvest tasty fruits of good quality.

In some cases, when there are no natural pollinators, you have to pollinate the zucchini yourself. Sometimes this needs to be done in open soil conditions to increase yields. The best time to carry out such a procedure manually is considered to be the morning period from 9 to 11 o'clock. It is better to choose a day with dry weather, as high humidity leads to pollen clumping.

Properly pollinating zucchini

In mid-August, you can often observe how the fruit ovaries of zucchini, which are characterized by late ripening, begin to rot. This is due to frequent rain and the influence of cold dew that occurs at night. During this period, bees are no longer so active. Flowers remain without pollination on days with no wind. As a result, new ovaries do not appear on the grass bushes. But under favorable weather conditions, you can restore the growing season and prolong the formation of fruits manually.

In zucchini, it is customary to distinguish between male and female flowers. The former are distinguished by long pedicels on which there are thorns, the latter by short pedicels with a smooth ovary under the flower. If you look closely, you can find crumbly pollen of a bright yellow hue in male flowers, and stigma in female flowers. It is necessary to pick a male bud that has just opened, carefully remove the petals and leave only the stamens with pollen. The latter must be transferred to the stigma of the female flower, rubbing its central part with the remaining stamen. If the weather is good during the day, then as a result of such an action, new fruits are guaranteed to appear in the future.

Additional features of zucchini pollination

When the ovary falls off, it is also recommended to carry out self-pollination. Sometimes you have to deal with the absence of male flowers on a plant. This somewhat complicates the process of manual pollination of zucchini, but does not make it impossible. In this case, you can pick similar male buds from plants such as pumpkin, cucumber or squash. In this case, seeds will not form, but it will be possible to grow seedless fruits (parthenocarpic). The fruits are collected 8-10 days after the flowering process, when their length becomes from 10 to 15 cm. The ovary must be cut off together with the stalk using a knife.

In addition, there are some ways to improve pollination. Thus, it is periodically recommended to move the leaves of zucchini apart to create better conditions for pollinating insects to access the flowers. To attract bees and wasps, a solution of honey in water (2-3 spoons per glass) is also often used, which is sprayed on the plant in the morning. If you don’t have honey, you can use regular sugar to prepare such a solution.

As you can see, the process of manual pollination does not require any difficulties and is used when you have to deal with gloomy rainy seasons, during which insects cannot pollinate the plant sufficiently.

Zucchini is usually grown in garden beds. This type of vegetable is calm tolerates slight temperature changes, over the summer, zucchini ripens successfully. But greenhouse cultivation has a number of additional advantages:

• shortening the growing season. The fruits ripen faster and the yield increases. Can be easily collected in a greenhouse 30 zucchini per 1 sq. m;
• there are hybrids that are especially heat-demanding, created specifically for indoor soil;
• zucchini grown in a greenhouse has a very tender and delicate taste;
• early zucchini is in great demand and is suitable for industrial cultivation;
• zucchini in the greenhouse are not affected and get sick less;
• Zucchini is undemanding to soil composition and temperature; growing it indoors is inexpensive.

Variety selection

In the limited space of greenhouses it is better to grow compact bush hybrids. They take up less space, but are distinguished by good yield and high taste of the fruit.

For indoor soil, early ripening varieties are chosen; they can be planted throughout the year, with uninterrupted harvesting. Ideal option for greenhouses – F1 hybrids, specially cultivated for closed ground.

It is better to choose plants without thorny growths on the petioles; they are easier and more convenient to collect. For sale, small-fruited varieties with fruits of light or medium-saturated color are preferred. Several dozen varieties and hybrids have been created for indoor soil.

White-fruited– the variety is suitable for both protected and open ground, but in a greenhouse the yield is significantly higher. Bush variety, compact, not forming long vines. Large greenish-white fruits with moderately dense creamy pulp have a delicate, not watery taste.

Kuand– an early ripening hybrid, suitable for glazed or film greenhouses. Very productive, small, beautiful fruits suitable for canning. The taste is delicate and uniform, the flesh is elastic and juicy.

Cavili– early ripening productive hybrid. The fruits are beautiful, smooth, with soft, uniform pulp. The taste is very delicate, without bitterness. Zucchini is suitable for salads, stews, soups and canning.

Belogor– a productive early ripening hybrid. The fruits are moderately large, with dense, pleasant-tasting pulp. Suitable for canning, but also tasty fresh.

Nemchinovsky– a compact variety that does not form long vines. It has high productivity. In open ground, the plant can be affected by powdery mildew, but in a greenhouse it practically does not get sick. The fruits are large, juicy, with greenish-white tender pulp.

Greenhouse requirements

Zucchini is undemanding to living conditions. They grow well not only in expensive greenhouses, but also in simple ones. The height of the greenhouse is not important, however, for ease of caring for plants, you need to make a fairly wide passage between the ridges.

A greenhouse for zucchini can be small, up to 50 square meters. m. Such space will ensure a good harvest. If you plan to grow zucchini in winter, you need to build the greenhouse on a foundation, covering wooden or metal frames with glass or polycarbonate.

A greenhouse is necessary equip with windows for ventilation And . You can warm up the greenhouse using an electric boiler or wood-burning stoves; for greenhouses covered with plastic, household heaters are suitable. Expensive greenhouses are equipped with an automatic drip irrigation and climate control system.

The ideal way to heat greenhouses is biofuel. This economical option is especially loved by zucchini because it warms not so much the air as the plant roots.

To prepare fuel, rotted pig, goat or cow manure is mixed with straw in equal proportions, piled up, sprinkled well with water and leave it under film for several days.

Then the top layer of soil is removed from the greenhouse, biofuel is evenly distributed and covered with a layer of nutrient substrate. Such a pillow not only warms the plants, but also serves as additional feeding during the period of active growth. The carbon dioxide released promotes rapid ripening of fruits and improves their taste.

Secrets of growing

How to grow zucchini in a greenhouse? Growing zucchini in a greenhouse is accessible not only to experienced, but also to beginning gardeners. This crop prefers light, well-loosened soil, neutral or slightly alkaline. For more nutritional value in the soil you can add compost and ash.

Instead of organic matter, you can apply complex mineral fertilizers, mainly superphosphate. Zucchini reacts negatively to preparations containing chlorine. Fertilizing is applied every 2 weeks simultaneously with watering and loosening. Before fertilizing, all weeds must be removed.

Zucchini more convenient to grow seedlings. Seeds are sown in peat pots, this makes it possible to preserve the fragile root system when replanting. Seedlings that have reached the age of 20-25 days are moved to a greenhouse to a permanent place.

The distance between plants is from 70 to 80 cm. Zucchini in film greenhouses planted in early May or a little earlier. When planting early, it is necessary to preheat the soil using stoves or electric boilers.

Mulching will help maintain normal moisture levels and speed up ripening. After planting, the soil is covered with a film in which holes are made for the plants. Watering is carried out into these holes. Mulching with sawdust is possible, sunflower husks and other materials. Covering the soil provides the squash with much-needed warmth.

Plants do not like greenhouses that are too hot and humid. The optimal temperature for successful fruit ripening is 24 degrees during the day and 18 degrees at night. Humidity is maintained at 60-70%. As the temperature increases, the plants may shed their ovaries; with extreme cold, the growth of zucchini slows down. You need to water the bushes once every 5-7 days, preferably soft water at room temperature.

Daily the greenhouse needs to be ventilated. On warm spring and summer days, zucchini should spend most of their time outdoors, this speeds up ripening and attracts insects for pollination. For additional attraction, plants are sprayed with sugar syrup dissolved in water. You can also pollinate zucchini manually using a cotton swab.

For better ventilation and maximum light access from plants remove the lower leaves. In this case, no less than 15 formed leaves should remain on the bush. This procedure is necessary for thickened plantings.

Harvesting

Harvesting should begin when the first fruits reach the desired size. Don't wait until they become too large. Small zucchini have a more delicate taste, their skin is soft and glossy. Watering stops 7 days before cutting.. This technique allows you to make the taste of the fruit more rich and not watery.

During active fruiting, zucchini is harvested every other day. Harvest very carefully, trying not to injure the tops of the bushes and the resulting lashes. Damaged plants do not recover well and may stop forming new ovaries.

When harvesting fruits, it is important to remove not only beautiful and full-fledged fruits, but also ugly, improperly formed fruits. Overgrown zucchini left on the branches will delay the development of new ovaries and reduce the yield of each bush. Care must be taken when cleaning, the skin of young fruits is susceptible to damage and scratches. Injured zucchini is stored worse and quickly loses its presentation.

Growing zucchini can be the beginning of a promising one. Early spring and In winter, the premium on fruits increases significantly, demand also increases. Find out what else is possible on our website.

Starting with one small greenhouse, you can gradually increase the number of plantings, experimenting with varieties and achieving maximum yields.

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Activities such as watering, pollination, fertilizing must be carried out on June 12-15, by which time the film should already be removed from the zucchini.

Chapter 1. Watering

Zucchini must be watered regularly, at the root. It is necessary to avoid getting water under the root. You need to water the zucchini once a week until the flowering period. For 1 sq.m it is necessary to spend 3.5-4 liters. water. Up to 8-10 l. The amount of water should be increased per 1 sq.m with the beginning of the fruiting period. It should be taken into account that watering should be done with water whose temperature is 20-25°C.

If you use cold water to water zucchini, this can lead to rotting of the young ovaries. If watering is carried out too often, the root system of the plants may be exposed. You should sprinkle the roots with soil mixture if this does happen. The layer thickness should be approximately 4-5 cm. Loosening with hilling is not recommended, as this can lead to damage to the root system.

During the flowering period, zucchini are pollinated by hand. To carry out pollination, you need to pick a male flower, tear off its petals, and then apply pollen to the pistil of the female flower. To pollinate 2-3 female flowers, one male flower is enough. Pollination can also be carried out by attracting bees. To do this, you need to dissolve 1 teaspoon of honey in a glass of water and spray the flowering plant with it in the morning.

Chapter 2. Feeding

Feeding when caring for zucchini is very important and is carried out three times during the growing season.

Before the zucchini flowering period, the first feeding is carried out. You need to take a half-liter jar of mullein and 1 tbsp. nitrophoska. Instead of this composition, you can take 2 tbsp. “Rossy” and dissolve in 1 bucket of water. The consumption rate per plant is 1 liter.

During the flowering period, a second feeding is performed. 2 tbsp. "Effecton" fertilizer and 2 tbsp. wood ash must be dissolved in one bucket of water. 1l – this is how much the solution should be consumed per plant.

During fruiting, zucchini is fed a third time. In 1 bucket of water you need to dissolve 2 tbsp. nitrophoska or 3 tbsp. organic fertilizer "Effecton-O". There should be 2 liters per plant.

Two root feedings can be carried out during the fruiting period. To prepare the fertilizer, take the drug “Bud” 10g, which is dissolved in 10 liters of water. Instead of this drug, you can use Rossa liquid fertilizer with a proportion of 1 tbsp. for 10 l. Root feeding should be done at intervals of 10-12 days. The solution consumption should be 2 liters per 10 sq.m.

Chapter 3. Harvesting zucchini

The first zucchini will appear 50-60 days after germination. But only if you did everything correctly.

Zucchini should be collected at least 1-2 times a week. You need to remove fruits from the garden that are 15 to 20 cm long. It should be remembered that the growth of young ovaries is retarded by dried fruits. The flow of sunlight to the center of the plant decreases as the plant develops. To provide the best light conditions for zucchini, you need to remove 2-3 leaves.