5 secrets to growing delicious zucchini on the balcony or in your garden
Zucchini is one of the most popular vegetables, which is planted in our garden in the spring and harvested in the summer. Zucchini belongs to the same family of plants as cucumber, melon, and watermelon. Growing zucchini is considered to be very simple and we highly recommend this to new growers as we can grow zucchini even in pots on our balcony if we do not have a garden. Zucchini is eaten boiled, fried, and roasted and is an important ingredient in many favorite summer food recipes such as pumpkin, priam, and stuffing. It is worth noting that zucchini has a significant nutritional value, as it is high in fiber, potassium, calcium, and folic acid. So let’s see what care is needed to grow zucchini to enjoy the most delicious and crunchy zucchini from the garden in our kitchen.
What season and how to plant zucchini in our garden?
Early planting of zucchini is done with ready-made plants purchased from a nursery in early spring or in a special bed to prepare us for the end of winter. If we want to grow zucchini in late spring, pumpkin seeds can be planted directly in the ground, because the soil temperature during this period is ideal for seed germination. Before planting young zucchini plants in the ground, organic matter should be added in the form of compost, digested manure, and organic manure at the planting sites for nutrient enrichment. When planting young zucchini plants, to have better ventilation and light of the plants, we avoid dense plantings, thus reducing the chance of developing fungal and pest diseases. The optimum distance for planting zucchini is 70-100 cm between planting sites and 100-140 cm between planting lines.
How often should zucchini be watered?
Zucchini requires relatively little water for good growth, significant fruiting, and fertile production. In particular, zucchini need watering every two days in the spring and every day in the summer, thus keeping the soil moist. The most suitable irrigation method for irrigating zucchini is drip irrigation, which is more efficient, more economical, and beneficial to the environment. Excessive watering, as well as moistening of zucchini leaves, contributes to fungal diseases such as powdery mildew when irrigated.
What fertilizer is needed to grow zucchini?
Fertilizing is an important crop as zucchini requires many nutrients. We add complete organic fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) to our zucchini once every 20 days to help with vigor, plant growth, flowering, and fruit production. It should be noted that excessive nitrogen fertilization negatively contributes to the zucchini fruiting and is susceptible to the development of fungal diseases.
How to deal with diseases and pests of pumpkin cultivation?
For the ecological plant protection of zucchini, we sprinkle sulfur around the roots, as well as on the leaves and quail to protect them from fungal diseases such as powdery mildew. Zucchini leaf dusting can be done with thiocalcin, however, some caution should be exercised when administering phytotoxicity during flowering such as other zucchini (cucumber, melon, watermelon). To protect our zucchini from pests that infect them, we use an environmental preparation of potassium salts of fatty acids purchased from agricultural stores. Alternatively, spray the plants with an improved product every week, dissolving it in a tablespoon of ground green soap and a tablespoon of alcohol in a liter of water. In these ways, we prevent the aphids (aphids) and zucchini from attacking the leaves and the powdery mildew that produces the characteristic nectar.
And the last secret about growing zucchini
Zucchini harvest usually starts 2 months after planting and lasts for 2-3 months depending on the zucchini varieties, planting season, and immunity. Zucchini is ready to cut when it reaches 10-15 cm in length, and to stay fresh and cool for a long time, it should be sliced with a piece of parchment. Zucchini fruit grows very fast, especially in summer, the harvest should be done at least once every two days in the morning so that we can enjoy the cold and crunchy fruits.
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