Zucchini Shoots

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Juicy fruits in the form of zucchini appear on the tables in the summer season much earlier than other crops. Most gardeners plant zucchini on their plots due to the fact that they are not picky in terms of care, but are a healthy and tasty product. Also, courgette dishes, due to the low calorie content of the vegetable, are often used in diets, which will delight young housewives. Children also love the fruits of this plant

Fresh zucchini are able to retain their taste for a very long time. For example, if you harvest fruits in July, you can store vegetables until the spring of next year. However, there are some nuances when growing this crop, especially after the first shoots of zucchini appear. As a rule, caring for a plant consists of some simple procedures.

How to plant zucchini?

Before starting the planting of zucchini, it is worth preparing the seeds, selecting from them those that will definitely become strong and healthy plants as a result. In addition, this will indicate the expectation of a good harvest. Each package of seeds is checked for defective planting material, which is an ugly and empty seed specimen. The remaining seeds must be placed in a thin layer on gauze soaked in water for germination to occur as soon as possible. After a few days, you can see that the seeds swelled and gave the first embryos of the root system and shoots.

You can plant zucchini both outdoors and in a greenhouse. Most often, the choice of location depends on the conditions that the weather creates for summer residents. In a situation where frosts still exist or may occur, the planting material is placed in peat-type pots in order to then grow zucchini in the form of seedlings. The optimal period for transplanting a vegetable crop to a garden bed is the moment the third leaf is formed on the seedling.

In the process of planting seeds on open beds, they should be deepened into the ground, then watered with a large volume of water and mulched with rubbed dry earth. In another situation, when planting zucchini seedlings, it is necessary to handle the roots very carefully, protecting them from any damage and defects. Like other pumpkin crops, zucchini are very difficult to tolerate transplanting and take a long time to master in a new place. Therefore, it is recommended to think about this in advance and use medium-sized peat-type pots for planting or move the seedlings of zucchini together with an earthen clod from the last place of cultivation.

You should not cluster zucchini sprouts when planting in a garden. Since such a vegetable crop belongs to the bush type and has a large rosette, consisting of strong leaves, the pits for planting plants are made taking into account this factor. As for the choice of a place for planting a vegetable, you should not plant zucchini in those areas where pumpkin crops, melons and cucumbers used to grow. It will be possible to plant zucchini here only after two to three years. But next to a pond or inside a flower garden, zucchini feel very good. The large-sized plant does not lose its attractiveness due to the bright green color of the stem and leaves, as well as due to the lush flowering.

How to prepare the ground for planting zucchini?

In the case of growing zucchini in your garden, the soil does not require any special and complex preparation, although you should still create some factors favorable for the development of the plant. This vegetable culture feels great in warm and loosened soil, especially if it is also fertile. You need to water the zucchini abundantly, but so that the plant does not experience excess moisture. They do not like zucchini when the soil has high acidity. It is required to start preparing sites for planting zucchini from the autumn season. At this time, humus is added to the ground in the beds and the soil is dug up. The next step is to level the ground. Moreover, it is necessary to remove all weeds and their seeds from the soil, and, if possible, apply fertilizers based on minerals.

In a situation where the soil is of the peat type, approximately one bucket of humus is introduced into the ground per square meter of the plot. It is also worth mixing this component with turf and cow dung. As mineral components, you can use one spoonful of superphosphate and a handful of wood ash. Then, when the seeds have already been planted, each hole is watered with a solution of water and special preparations that stimulate plant growth. To preserve heat and humidity, the bed is covered with plastic wrap.