Growing Zucchini In The Open Field

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Read the previous part. ← Zucchini, varieties and growing conditions

Zucchini grade Malchugan

Zucchini cultivation

Site selection and soil preparation. Zucchini on the site is placed in a well-warmed by the sun and protected from the wind. In areas with a moderate amount of heat, it is best to grow it on the ridges, placing them from east to west so that the plants in the row do not shade each other.

The best precursors for squash are cabbage, potatoes, root vegetables, onions, legumes, and greens. To prevent disease damage, it is important to return them to their original place or place them after cucumber and other pumpkin crops no earlier than 3-4 years later.

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Soil preparation begins in the fall. In the area freed from previous crops, careful removal of plant debris is carried out. If early crops (lettuce, dill, onions) were grown on the site, surface loosening of the soil is carried out with a rake or rotary hoes, which contributes to the germination of weed seeds. After 2-3 weeks, after the emergence of annual weeds, the soil is dug to the depth of the arable layer. Areas freed up after late crops (potatoes, roots, cabbage) are dug up immediately after harvesting.

Zucchini needs highly fertile soils, so in the fall, when digging, it is necessary to apply organic fertilizers in the form of manure, peat compost or humus. Organic fertilizers not only enrich the soil with nutrients, but also improve its structure, water, air and thermal conditions.

The most valuable organic fertilizer is manure. When 100 kg of manure is applied, 340 g of nitrogen, 50 g of phosphorus, 470 g of potassium, as well as calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, molybdenum and cobalt - about 30 elements in total, are introduced into the soil.

Fresh peat is biologically inert and is poorly involved in microbiological processes; therefore, it is better to apply it in the form of composts. Compost is prepared from plant residues, which are layered with peat, manure, slurry, and tree leaves. Compost heaps are periodically moistened, and mixed 1.5-2 months after laying. When the compost is warmed up, it is compacted, and before frost is covered with a layer of soil 30-40 cm. The compost is used when it turns into a homogeneous crumbly mass.

A valuable organic fertilizer is humus, which is obtained when manure or compost is completely decomposed. It is better to apply it in the spring, when digging, or directly into the holes when sowing, and also add to the soil mixture when growing seedlings.

In addition to organic fertilizers, mineral fertilizers are also used as the main fertilizer for zucchini. Phosphorus, potassium and ammonium forms of nitrogen fertilizers can be applied during autumn tillage, and nitrate forms of nitrogen fertilizers during spring. It is necessary to calculate the dose of mineral fertilizer based on the calculation of the active substance (g / 10m²): N-10, P

₂ O

₅ - 10, K

₂ O - 8.

If the soil on the site is acidic, liming is necessary in the fall. The acidity of the soil can be determined by analyzing it in a special agrochemical laboratory or on your own using a special indicator paper that is sold in stores. The degree of acidity of the soil is also indicated by the composition of the weeds growing on it.

Horsetail, sorrel, shepherd's purse, pikulnik, torus, plantain, heather grow on soils with an acidic environment. On slightly acidic and neutral ones - field bindweed, chamomile, coltsfoot, creeping wheatgrass.

The application rates of lime material (chalk, dolomite flour, slaked lime) depend on the degree of acidity of the soil and its mechanical composition. On acidic (pH 4-5) sandy loam and light loamy soils, 4-5 kg of lime is applied per 10 m², on loamy soils - 6-10 kg, and on heavy loamy soils –7.5-12 kg; at an average acidity level (pH 5-6), respectively: 2.5-4, 5-6, 7-8 kg per 1 m². Lime materials should not be applied to the soil with manure, as this increases nitrogen losses. In this case, it is better to apply organic fertilizers during spring tillage.

Since sowing zucchini seeds and planting seedlings in open ground is carried out only after the threat of frost has passed, in the spring it is necessary to carry out 1-2 loosening with a rake. This will prevent the soil from drying out and help control weeds. Before sowing or planting, the soil is dug up to ¾ of the depth of autumn processing.

After that, ridges or ridges are made. Ridge height 20-25 cm, width 120-140 cm; the height of the ridge is 20 cm, the width is 30 cm, the distance between the centers of the ridges is 70 cm. The ridges and ridges must be made two days before sowing seeds or planting seedlings so that the soil has time to warm up well. If the weather is dry, ridges and ridges are slightly compacted, this helps to pull up moisture from the lower layers of the soil.

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Seed preparation for sowing

A prerequisite for obtaining an early and high yield of zucchini is a thorough pre-sowing preparation of seeds. This improves their germination, reduces the risk of developing harmful diseases, and accelerates the development of plants.

For sowing, large, well-executed seeds are selected, rejecting feeble and deformed seeds. To increase germination and germination energy of seeds, you need to warm them up, especially if fresh seeds are taken for sowing. To do this, 1.5-2 months before sowing, the seeds are suspended in a cloth or gauze bag in a warm place, for example, near a heating battery.

Very important factors in pre-sowing treatment are disinfection, treatment with microelements and hardening of seeds. All these actions can be carried out in one step, combining them with soaking. For disinfection, seeds in a gauze bag are placed in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate heated to 40-45 ° C for 30-40 minutes; at the same time, both thermal disinfection and heating are carried out, if it was not carried out earlier.

Then the seeds are washed in clean water and placed in a solution of trace elements. To prepare such a solution, 0.3 g of boric acid, 0.4 g of ammonium molybdate, 0.2 g of manganese sulfate, 0.02 g of succinic acid are added to 1 liter of water. Duration of soaking in a solution of trace elements - 18-24 hours at room temperature. Then the solution of microelements is poured off and the seeds are hardened with variable temperatures.

To do this, the swollen seeds are placed in a damp cloth and kept for four days alternately: 12 hours at a temperature of 2 ° C (in the refrigerator) and 12 hours at a temperature of 18-20 ° C. These techniques affect the activation of growth processes, increase the resistance of plants to unfavorable weather conditions and contribute to an early and higher harvest.

Growing zucchini in the open field

Zucchini grade Black handsome

Sowing. The timing of sowing zucchini seeds in open ground is determined by the climatic conditions of the growing region. Zucchini is a more cold-resistant crop than other pumpkin crops, but its seedlings are damaged by spring frosts. Therefore, sowing should be carried out when the soil at a depth of 10 cm warms up to + 10 … + 12 ° С, and the air temperature will be at least + 15 … + 18 ° С, and the threat of frost has passed. In the southern and central parts of the Non-Chernozem zone, such conditions usually correspond to the first and second decades of May, in the Northwest region - the first decade of June.

Before sowing with a hoe or shovel, make holes according to the scheme: on ridges with a row spacing of 70 cm - the distance between holes is 80-100 cm; on ridges 120-140 cm wide - the distance between rows is 60-70 cm, in a row 80-100 cm. To prevent plants from shading each other, it is better to arrange the holes in a checkerboard pattern. In the event that organic and mineral fertilizers have not been applied since autumn, 0.5-1 kg of humus, 30-40 g of granular superphosphate and 10-15 g of potassium salt are added to each hole and mixed with the ground. If the soil is dry, it is watered at the rate of 1-1.5 liters of water per well.

2-3 seeds are sown in each hole, placing them at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other. Seeds are planted to a depth of 3-5 cm on heavy soils and 5-6 cm on light soils. From above, the holes are mulched with dry earth, peat or humus. To create more favorable conditions for germination, the ridge can be covered with a polymer film or non-woven material (spunbond or lutrasil), covered with earth at the edges.

If there are no special holes for plants in them, then after the emergence of seedlings they are removed. On waterlogged soils, a polymer film should not be used for this purpose, so as not to worsen the air regime of the soil. If you cut cross-shaped holes in the black spunbond spread along the ridge and plant seeds or seedlings of zucchini in them, then the shelter can then not be removed. It will help to better warm the soil, allow rain moisture to pass through and inhibit the development of weeds.

You can get production 1-1.5 weeks earlier by planting seedlings in the cotyledon phase in open ground. The seeds are germinated for ten days in sawdust moistened with mullein solution (1:10). It is important to prevent the sawdust from drying out, for which they are periodically moistened with the same solution.

Boxes with sawdust are placed in a warm place, and after sprouting, they are transferred to a cooler one. Seedlings should be planted immediately after removing them from the sawdust, preventing the roots from drying out and getting direct sunlight on them.

Seedling method of growing. To obtain an earlier harvest, the seedling method of growing zucchini is used. Seedlings are grown in plastic greenhouses or greenhouses; in their absence, a small number of seedlings can be grown on window sills facing the south, south-west or south-east side. A prerequisite for growing marrow seedlings is sufficient illumination.

Seedlings are grown in peat pots with a diameter of 8-10 cm. Instead of pots, you can use plastic or paper cups without a bottom or with holes in the bottom. The soil for filling them can be purchased in stores or prepared by yourself. The main components of such a soil mixture are peat, sod or field land, humus in a ratio of 3: 1: 1. If not peat, but peat compost is used, the proportion of humus is reduced by 10%.

For 10 kg of soil mixture add 6 g of ammonium sulfate, 12 g of powdered superphosphate, 5 g of potassium sulfate. Instead of applying dry fertilizers, you can pour the filled pots with a solution of mineral fertilizers (for 10 liters of water - 20 g of nitrogen, 30 g of phosphorus and 20 g of potash) and mullein (1:10). With increased acidity of the prepared soil, lime, chalk or dolomite flour are added to it and the pH is brought to normal (6-7).

Pots or cups filled with soil are placed in shallow boxes, lining their bottom with foil. Before sowing, the soil is watered with warm water or a pink solution of potassium permanganate. The date of sowing seeds is determined depending on the timing of transplanting seedlings to a permanent place. The most optimal age for seedlings is 25-30 days.

It is better to sow the seeds that have grown, placing them one by one in each pot. Then the seeds are covered with the same soil with a layer of 2-3 cm and again watered with warm water from a watering can with a strainer. After the end of sowing, the boxes are covered with plastic wrap, transferred to a warm (+ 25 … + 27 ° C) place and maintained at optimal humidity. When seedlings appear, the film is removed and the air temperature is lowered to + 16 … + 18 ° C in order to prevent them from stretching. After five to six days, when the seedlings get stronger, the air temperature is raised to + 20 … + 22 ° С.

Seedlings are watered with warm (+ 18 … + 20 ° C) water, soil moisture should be moderate. Waterlogging leads to disruption of soil aeration and poor development of the root system, and in combination with high temperatures and insufficient illumination, it causes stretching of plants. The optimum air humidity is 70-80%.

Plant feeding is carried out twice. For the first time, 10-12-day-old seedlings are watered with a mullein solution (1:10), and, after another 10 days, with a solution of mineral fertilizers at the rate of: 15 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water.

7-10 days before planting, the seedlings are hardened, gradually reducing the temperature to + 15 … + 18 ° С, and then - to + 12 … + 15 ° С. This leads to a restructuring of the physiological processes in the plant, contributes to an increase in their resistance to low temperatures and good survival after transplantation. If all these growing conditions are observed, the seedlings are strong, with short internodes, and have 2-3 well-developed true dark green leaves.

Zucchini seedlings are planted in open ground after the threat of the last spring frost has passed. It is advisable to plant in the afternoon, in the late afternoon, in cloudy weather - at any time of the day. The most favorable for planting is a moderately warm, windless day. Seedling pots and holes are well spilled with water. Peat pots are placed in the hole and covered with soil, evenly and tightly squeezing 2 cm above the level of the upper edge.

If ceramic pots or made of film or paper were used for growing seedlings, they are removed, preventing the destruction of the clod of earth around the roots. Such seedlings must be buried in the hole to the cotyledon leaves. After planting, the plants are watered, the soil around them is mulched with dry humus, earth or peat. Until they take root, they need to be watered daily.

Plant care

Plant care consists in loosening, weeding, watering and feeding, protecting against diseases and pests. The first loosening is carried out after the emergence of seedlings or on the second day after transplanting. If a crust begins to form on the soil, then loosening must be carried out even before the emergence of seedlings, so that the seedlings do not suffer from a lack of oxygen.

In the phase of the first true leaf, thinning of soil crops is carried out, leaving one plant in the hole. Weaker plants are removed, carefully plucking them out so as not to damage the root system of the remaining. Subsequent loosening and weeding is repeated as the soil crust appears and the crops are overgrown with weeds. Usually, at least three loosening and weeding are carried out before the leaves close.

Timely feeding is a prerequisite for obtaining high yields of squash. The first time the plants are fed in the phase of three to five leaves, the second - before the beginning of fruiting. In wet weather, fertilizers are applied in dry, in dry weather - in liquid form. 15-17 g of ammonium sulfate, 10-15 g of superphosphate, 15 g of potassium sulfate are consumed per 1 m². In the second feeding, the dose of potassium fertilizer is doubled, phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizer - one and a half times. On soils poor in humus, feeding with mullein infusion (1:10) or chicken manure (1:20) gives good results; the consumption rate per plant is 1 liter in the first feeding and 2 liters in the second.

Zucchini is very responsive to foliar dressing, especially in the phase of 5-6 leaves, after prolonged cloudy weather. 10-15 g of urea and 1 tablet of microfertilizers are thoroughly dissolved in 10 liters of water. Spraying of plants is carried out in the evening to prevent the evaporation of water from the leaves before they absorb the nutrient solution. The leaves are evenly moistened, consuming a bucket of solution for 25-30 plants.

With abundant fruiting and noticeable depletion of plants, feeding is carried out during the fruiting period. Fertilization doses are the same as in the second top dressing.

With insufficient rainfall, especially during the period of intensive growth, zucchini requires regular watering. Watering is carried out in the afternoon or evening hours to reduce evaporation loss of water. The rate of water consumption is 5-6 liters per plant. It is important to loosen the soil shortly after watering to avoid soil crust and moisture loss.

Read the next part. Diseases and pests of zucchini →

Tatiana Piskunova,

Candidate of Agricultural Sciences,

VIR named after N. I. Vavilov

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