Zucchini: what is this plant and how to care for it

Many have heard of zucchini, but not everyone knows what it is. It is believed that this kind of zucchini, which was bred in America, and in Europe came from Mexico. But his parents were Italian breeders who gave him a name: the Italian word zucchini is a diminutive form from zucca, which means "pumpkin". On how to grow this miracle in my garden and what is its feature, we will tell further.

Zucchini: description

Zucchini is a high-yielding, ripening vegetable, which belongs to the pumpkin family. It is in many ways similar to the zucchini, but it has more female flowers that grow alone closer to the root of the bush.

Male inflorescences are kept in bunches of several large bells of yellow-orange color. Zucchini leaves have a rugged look with a pattern of silvery shade.On stems and petioles there is practically no pubescence.

In general, zucchini has a description similar to zucchini, with the only difference that its fruits have a dark green or rich golden color. There are also striped varieties. The shape and size of the fruit is also varied.

They can be elongated or round, not more than a tennis ball or up to 25 cm in length. It all depends on the type of vegetable.

Zucchini bush grows compactly, without branches. The vertical stem of the plant falls to the ground only at the end of the season. Its fruits ripen quickly, and the plant itself is little prone to disease.

Zucchini and zucchini: what are the differences

Noting a number of similarities, many wonder: zucchini is a zucchini or not? Together with the zucchini, he refers to the type of pumpkin and in most cases it refers to the subspecies of zucchini. But, noting the advantages of zucchini over zucchini, it is often called zucchini advanced.

It has more compact lashes, and the fruit is distinguished by a huge variety of colors: yellow, green, almost black, and also speckled, striped.

Squashes are mostly yellowish or white in color, which is rather stiff. In zucchini, on the contrary, it is so soft that sometimes it is not even peeled. In addition, it has a high content of vitamin C.

Comparing zucchini and zucchini, it should be noted how they differ in taste. The first has a tender flesh that can be eaten even raw. Squash is always necessary to pre-process because of the hard fruit. Before cooking, they peel it off and remove seeds that are rather large in size. Zucchini also has not only a thin skin, but also small imperceptible seeds. Therefore, when cooking dishes from it, they are not cut out.

True, with a high fertility, a relative of the zucchini is quite tender. It does not tolerate air temperatures below 5 ° C and requires a lot of sun and heat. But after harvesting its fruits can be stored for more than six months, which can not be said about the zucchini.

What you need for planting zucchini on the site

Despite the gentle nature of the plant, growing zucchini in the open field is popular in our area and gives good results.Of course, if you follow all the rules of plant cultivation.

Zucchini lighting and temperature

The most important thing to know when growing this vegetable is that it needs to provide good light and enough heat. Therefore, the area on which he lands, should be illuminated by scattered sunlight. During the entire growing season, the plant should receive enough heat, so make sure that the sun's rays heat the soil as much as possible. If you follow these rules, then zucchini is always distilled in the growth of zucchini, even if they have risen earlier.

Soil requirements

Zucchini love sandy and loamy soils, so their cultivation should take place on the loose soils of normal acidity. If there is no suitable site or it doesn’t warm up well, then high beds on the compost heap are formed for the plant.

To ensure sufficient warm-up sprinkled with a layer of earth or sand. It is important that from the autumn the beds should be prepared and filled with plant residues.

Another question: how to grow zucchini healthy? For this you need to plant them in the ground after solanaceous, cabbage, beans. It is not recommended to use areas where pumpkin plants have previously grown - causative agents of typical diseases may remain in the ground.

Planting zucchini: terms, preparatory work, scheme

What zucchini and zucchini are similar to is that they are planted at the same time in the same way: in late May or early June by sowing seeds in open ground or seedlings.

Planting zucchini direct seeding

Zucchini squash requires a special approach to planting and care. The first step is to properly prepare the ground for planting. This should be done in the autumn, digging up a plot with superphosphate, manure and wood ash.

It helps to reduce the acidity of the soil. In the spring, before planting, the plot is again dug up, leveled and watered with ammonium nitrate or a solution of potassium permanganate to disinfect the soil. After that, you can proceed to disembark.

The first sowing is done in the middle of May.To do this, dig holes up to 7 cm in depth, and if the soil is heavy, then up to 4 cm. The distance between them should be at least 50 cm, as the plant likes open space. In the hole first put a handful of earth mixed with humus and wood ash. But it is necessary to spread the mixture so that the ash then does not come into contact with the roots of the plant. Water is poured into each well, and then two or three seeds are placed. When they sprout, you must leave one, the strongest sprout. But after planting seeds in the ground, the soil should be mulched at least with dry earth.

Growing zucchini by seedling method

Zucchini can be grown and seedlings. To germinate seeds, they take a low but wide jar, fill it with sawdust and moisten it with water. In some cases, sawdust is recommended to moisten with a mixture of slurry (1 liter) and boric acid (0.5 g).

Seeds are immersed in the mixture, the jar is closed with a film and left in a room where the temperature is kept at a level of 20-25 ° C.

By planting seedlings ready in about 25 - 30 days. But first, it should be seated in separate pots, preferably peat. This will then allow it to be planted in open ground by means of transshipment, without disturbing the roots.

If during planting the root system is broken, the plant does not take root well. Seedlings are placed on the beds, as in sowing, in late May-early June.

How to grow zucchini: care for zucchini

In order for zucchini to give a good harvest, cultivation and maintenance must be carried out according to certain rules - regular watering, periodic weeding and loosening the soil, as well as timely removal of old leaves.

How to water zucchini

Zucchini is a heat-loving plant. The optimum temperature of its normal growing season is 25 ° C. But the high temperature contributes to the drying of the soil, and the plant itself moisture-loving.Therefore, in no case should not allow the soil to dry out.

Zucchini react sensitively, if watering is insufficient - they drop ovaries and do not release new ones. During flowering and fruit ovary, watering should be strengthened. During irrigation, you should also be careful not to reduce the yield of the plant. Water should not fall on the ovaries and leaves. This is especially true of areas that are poorly ventilated.

Soil care and weeding

While the plants have not yet entered into full force, they must be weeded regularly. Then they themselves will drown the weeds. If the soil in the beds is light, then it is not necessary to loosen it. Heavy must be loosened after each watering or rain.

Features feeding zucchini

It is recommended to feed zucchini several times during the growing season. The first time is fed a month after sowing seeds in open ground or two weeks after transplanting. Mineral fertilizers are applied strictly under the root, avoiding contact with the leaves.

Very responsive plant for organic fertilizer. In the period before flowering, you can make a solution of chicken manure at the rate of 1:20 or mullein 1:10.

When the buds begin to form on the plant, you can feed the wood ash (about 300 g).During the period of fruit formation, it is recommended to add liquid phosphorus-potassium fertilizers according to the instructions.

Harvesting zucchini

The first fruits on the plant appear in June. If they are not plucked, they can reach 25 cm, but such zucchini has no culinary value, as it loses much in taste.

To remove the fruit is desirable when they reach a length of about 15 cm. At this age, zucchini have tender flesh and can be used as food even raw with the skin.

Remember that the plant will not bear fruit at the expense of itself. Therefore, if time does not remove the arrived in time, new ones will not appear on it. Vegetables should be removed every week, and in the midst of summer - sometimes every day. They must be cut with a stem to increase yields.

For storage, they remove a vegetable for the winter, which itself has already ripened, and the seeds are not fully ripe. As a rule, such zucchini is a bit larger in size than those that were going for food right away. Make sure that the harvest when harvesting remains intact and not damaged, then it will be stored throughout the winter, gradually ripening.

It is recommended to leave one zucchini to mature fully in the garden and pick up when the stem dries. From this vegetable, seeds are collected for sowing next year.

Why did zucchini taste bitter

Sometimes housewives complain that instead of juicy, tender and pleasant flesh, zucchini disappoints with a bitter aftertaste.

This can happen because of the long stay of the plant without the required amount of moisture or nutrients. Today, breeders cultivated plant varieties that do not accumulate toxic substances in such conditions. But it is better to carry out the right care in advance.

Zucchini is an interesting, original and tasty vegetable, which has long been a frequenter in the beds of our gardeners. Despite its considerable similarity with the zucchini, it differs from it in appearance, according to the taste of the fruit, the characteristics of care and storage. This is a heat-loving plant, which, with the right temperature and water regime, gives a bountiful harvest.It is important to feed and water zucchini only in time so that the crop preserves its gustatory qualities, otherwise all fruits will become bitter and unfit for human consumption. If the harvest is successful, it can be stored until the next season.