Let's talk about growing zucchini and squash in the open field. Zucchini and squash are annual vegetable plants of the pumpkin family. Anyone who grows them, cares for planting, harvesting, can confirm what kind of fruit they are! Mature quickly, without much hassle. And after they begin to bear fruit, they will not be stopped. That is why they are so popular in our gardens.
Zucchini varied in shape, color. They are very fruitful, quick. Some varieties can be stored until March-April.
Varieties and hybrids are numerous - zucchini-zucchini Astoria, Golda F1, White Swan, Anchor, Tsukesha, Zheltoplodny, Gribovsky, Kuand, Kavili F1, others.
Agrotechnique cultivation of zucchini and zucchini is the same, so below in the text we will call zucchini all their varieties.
Zucchini can be grown not only in the garden. They grow well near the fence, outside the greenhouse, that is, where there is already something else that will not even grow. But the place should be sunny. They do not require such heat as cucumbers. Grow, give a crop all summer.
Cultivation of zucchini - so how can this be done so that they bring you benefit?
This is quite moisture-loving plants. When growing zucchini through seedlings or sowing in open ground, one rule should be observed without fail - spill the beds well the day before. This will help reduce the stress of seedlings and germinate the seeds faster if you plant them immediately in the soil.
How to choose the right place for landing zucchini? Like any plant, they love the sun. That is, a place for growing zucchini, for their landing, choose the sun.
If you are planting seedlings, then dig shallow( 5-7 cm) holes, add to each 1 tablespoon of azofoski. Do not forget to mix the soil inside the pit, so as not to burn the roots. Pour some water in there. Submerge the bush zucchini to the first leaf.
When sowing seeds, also pour the same mineral fertilizers on the bottom of a shallow hole, mix, pour, and spread 2-3 seeds on a wet surface. Shoots appear in 6-7 days.
If you live in the middle lane, in the north-west of our country, Siberia, I advise you to pre-plan protection against northerly cold winds when growing zucchini. In Kuban, I also noticed that the zucchini growing close to the shelter is far ahead in growth of my fellows growing in the open.
This cover can be a small stack of mown grass, a wall of a shed, a fence, an old metal barrel set on the north side or just a pile of earth. During the day, all this protection will heat up, and at night it will give off heat to the zucchini, that is, day and night temperature drops will not be so noticeable to the plants. You will definitely notice the difference between plants growing in an open area or under protection. Bushes of squash, cultivated under the protection, delight their well-being, intense dark green color indicates favorable conditions, the leaves reach huge sizes. Harvest too happy.
How to care for zucchini? Zucchini love organics, respond well to mulching. Weeding is important for zucchini when they are small and weeds are large. It is undesirable for the grass to take away nutrients from the soil. But after the tops ascend high, the weeds are practically not afraid of her anymore. Under the loopy leaves of zucchini, the grass does not grow very much.
Another secret of growing zucchini. At the time of their flowering should stop watering. Resume it only after the start of fruit set. The fact is that their pollen becomes heavy when watering - bees or insects can not cope with pollination. But, to be honest, zucchini or squash - so fruitful that sometimes you do not know where to put the harvest, so I, personally, do not have a headache from whether they are tied up or not. Without a crop almost never remained.
If you grow zucchini in mulch, then watering will not be so burdensome. And, of course, it is necessary from time to time to break the zucchini - young and not so that new ones can start. You can leave 2-3 pieces for seeds, and the rest do not give out to outgrow.
Last year I made this mistake. It was hot, the leaves of zucchini drooped, some began to turn yellow. I decided to cover a few bushes with lutrasil. And what? By this I closed all the flowers from the bees, the flies that pollinate them. For some time, the fruit, of course, no longer tied. While I understood this, time passed. On these bushes, I began to tear the courgettes only in August.
As soon as the temperature at night( August, September) begins to fall below 10 ° C, it is possible to cover landing squashes with spanbond, lutrasil or any other covering material. This will prolong the harvest period.
You have gathered a rich harvest of zucchini. How to store them properly? Let's figure it out. Zucchini or squash is usually eaten when the fruit is not more than 10 days. Seeds are still small. And over time, nutrients becomes less. Therefore, it makes no sense to keep them. It is better to recycle young zucchini or squash, make blanks.
Leave can be stored can only ripe fruit zucchini zucchini.
There is a very interesting variety of zucchini - Winter handsome. This is a very well-kept variety. It is well kept until April of the next year in room conditions. The flesh remains juicy. The peel, of course, is hard, but it belongs to the hardcore varieties. Seeds inside will not germinate, will be suitable for planting over the next 5 years.
Squash has been cultivated in Russia for 1.5 centuries. They did not receive wide distribution. Although, in my opinion, the taste of the scallops is more gentle than zucchini, especially pickled ones.
In shape, their fruits are very diverse. They can be like a plate, with or without teeth, in the form of a bell. The color of the patissons can also be different - white, yellow in different shades, green, purple.
White patissons are usually more popular - Disc, Umbrella, Rodeo, others. Yellow varieties - Sunny, Fouette, UFO orange. Purple variety - Bingo-Bongo. Green varieties - Chung-Chang, Gosh.
Agricultural cultivation of squash is the same as zucchini, but it should be borne in mind that the rapeseeds are more heat-loving, therefore more compost is added during planting. Tear them better young. Like squash, squash, the longer they grow, the harder they become.
I do not know about you, but I'm just in love with zucchini, squash. I fry them, make pancakes of them, preserve them. What they are delicious! It is a pleasure to open in the winter a jar of pickled zucchini or squash, to eat them with crumbly potatoes. Caviar, salads, snacks! And what an extraordinary jam is obtained from zucchini! A great variety of dishes can be cooked!
With amazement, she always regarded what some say: I don’t like zucchini. .. Well, how can you not love them? !
Squashes, squash diet vegetables. Useful. Even medicinal. Dishes from them are useful to those who lose weight and those who want to get better. Yes Yes! Do not be surprised! She herself witnessed such a story. She worked in the same organization with two women. Both waited for the summer to eat zucchini. One had a goal - to lose weight, and the other - to get better. Each of them achieved its goal. Moreover, they ate almost the same dishes. Well, except for slimming one of them did not include in the menu zucchini fritters.
