The main feature of zucchini - versatility and simplicity. And we are talking not only about the culinary characteristics of the vegetable, it is also not at all troublesome when it is grown. To harvest a good crop, gardeners need to work a little physically and attach some agrotechnical knowledge. Next, we will talk about how to properly grow zucchini in the open field, which neighbors for them to choose, what to fertilize, and whether the plant needs watering.
Sowing zucchini seeds in open ground
Successful cultivation of this variety of pumpkin depends on the quality of the seed, the selected site and the complex preparatory work. It consists in the pre-sowing treatment of seeds, plowing the soil and its enrichment with nutrients. We will understand all the intricacies in more detail. 
Check out the best and popular varieties of zucchini for growing in the country.
When to sow seeds in open ground
As soon as the threat of spring frosts has passed, and friendly shoots of other cultures will appear in the garden, it is necessary to plant squash in open ground. This usually occurs in the last decade of May and in early June. 
Experienced growers advise to consider the recommendations of the lunar calendar. You should not worry that landing is carried out late. If you provide the seeds with moisture and correctly prepare them for germination, the first shoots will appear in a few days.
Did you know? For a long time, zucchini was grown as an exotic crop exclusively in greenhouses, and it was only in Mexico, in their historic homeland, that seeds consumed food. The first ventured to try the whole vegetable Italians.
How to prepare zucchini seeds
All the trouble of the future harvest begins with the selection of seed. Some housewives collect it from their beds, while others prefer to purchase it. Home seeds are important to check for germination.
To do this, they are soaked in a very weak solution of potassium permanganate, after which the settled specimens are kept for about 20 minutes in a growth stimulator. This preparatory stage is completed by rinsing and wrapping the selected grains in a damp and warm cloth.
Important! Zucchini grains, homemade or purchased, except for hybrids, are suitable for planting for 5-8 years. Quality copies remain viable and longer.
After the seed swells, but it still does not take root, it is stratified for 48 hours at a temperature of about 0 ° C. Then the nodule is placed on the southern sill for a week, periodically moistened with water.
Material is ready for planting when root shoots up to one third of the grains develop on it. Not all gardeners are engaged in the cultivation of zucchini. Many are buried in open ground seeds, treated only by Kornevin or Ecosil.
Learn about the agricultural technology of growing zucchini from seedlings in open ground.
Choosing a place for landing zucchini
When looking for a suitable bed for pumpkin crops, note the thermophilicity of zucchini and their basic requirements for agricultural cultivation. It will be very comfortable for plants in an open, well-lit area, where there are no buildings or trees nearby.
It is desirable that the vegetables were under the sun throughout the day. It is also important to take into account the landscape of the site: avoid cold lowlands, drafts and windy areas.
Do not rush to the garden plan: in this case it is important to understand, after which it is better to plant squash.
Experts consider as ideal predecessors for culture: potatoes, all kinds of cabbage, onions, greens, garlic, eggplants, tomatoes, carrots, beets and beans. For 3-4 years it was not recommended to cultivate representatives of the pumpkin family on the same area. Also, it is not necessary to carry out sowing, where cucumbers used to grow.
Important! Almost all imported zucchini seeds from stores belong to hybrids. They are not suitable for collecting seed next year.
The wrong crop rotation and the neighborhood will complicate the development of zucchini. This is because the grains are in a depleted land, moreover, an unfavorable pathogenic environment has remained from the precursors.
In no case should you plant melons and watermelons near the zucchini. Pumpkin and melon crops have a general need for nutrition and the same sensitivity to pathogens. As a result of this experiment, you will get a poor harvest on both beds.
It is useful to learn about the rules of planting squash in open ground.
Preparatory work on the site for zucchini
What exactly needs to be done on the site before planting depends on the physico-chemical characteristics of the substrate on it. Many of the question about what kind of soil is needed for zucchini, without hesitation, answer: "Warm." This is an important nuance, because in a cold environment the seeds will not sprout, but not the main one. First, determine the soil composition in the garden and correct it with fertilizers. 
Did you know? Squashes have a diuretic effect, excrete sodium salts from the body, improve the functioning of the intestines, improve metabolic processes and digestion.
If you have:
- Peatlands. Add a mixture of 2 kg of compost (you can replace with humus), 1 buckets of loamy soil, 1 teaspoon of superphosphate, 2 tablespoons of wood ash, 1 teaspoon of potassium sulfate per square meter. Then dig up the area to a depth of 20 cm, level with a rake and moisten with Ross or Agricola-5 liquid fertilizers. The working solution is prepared from the calculation of 1 tablespoon of the drug on a bucket, heated to 40 degrees, water. At the end of the bed cover polyethylene, which retains moisture and heat.
- Loam or heavy clay soil. In this case, to correct the substrate, mix 1 kg of peat, humus, sawdust, and also 1 tablespoon of ash and superphosphate per 1 square meter.
- Supes. Before you put zucchini in a country house in such a substrate, add a bucket of loam, peat, 4 kg of humus and sawdust to it, add 30 g of wood ash and superphosphate.
- Fertile black soil. The site will need to properly loosen and feed a mixture of 2 kg of sawdust, 60 g of wood ash, 30 g of superphosphate.
- Undeveloped area. Land in such zones requires careful digging, cleaning weeds and harmful insects from the roots. Therefore, when developing a new plot, first of all add 2 kg of compost, 60 g of ash, 30 g of nitrophoska. Then dig the ground, pour a warm solution of drugs Ross, or Agricola-5.
Did you know? Scientists have shown that people who regularly eat zucchini dishes do not practically turn gray. This occurs through the activation of melanin, which is responsible for the hair pigment.
Scheme and depth of sowing seeds
The technology of growing zucchini in the open field provides for a considerable distance between neighboring bushes. Experienced growers are advised to retreat in rows of 1 meter and leave a half meter spacing. Sowing should be carried out in damp ground, preferably in cloudy weather or in the morning.
Holes make shallow, but wide. Add soil mixture to the bottom with the organic drug Effekton (1 tablespoon to each hole), sow at a distance of 2 - 3 cm, 3 grains.
If it is necessary to save crops from frost, seedlings are covered with hay, agrofibre, film, or cut bottles (each plant separately).
How to care for courgettes in the open ground
Subsequent care of squash garden beds in the garden is timely watering, feeding and weeding. We will understand everything in order.
Irrigation mode
Watering squash is carried out only at the root, because the water on the leaves should not fall. Before the appearance of flowers, it is advisable to moisturize once a week, and when the ovary is formed, the amount of moisture should be doubled. Under each bush, it is desirable to pour from 5 to 10 liters of warm water.
Always collect water for irrigation in advance, otherwise you will have to watch lots of rotten greens on the plot. Do not overdo it - excessive watering exposes the root system of the zucchini, which leads to its death. To save the plants you need a soil mixture of peat and compost. It is enough to pour a layer of height up to 5 cm around the bush.
Important! If the garden does not fly bees, and zucchini bloom in full swing, pick a male-type flower, tear off its petals and put a pestle into a female flower. So you can pollinate up to 3 stamens.
Loosening and weeding between rows
For squashes, as well as for all other plants, the state of the soil in the garden is important. Pumpkin culture will not be able to fully develop, if it will take away the nutrients growing near the weeds. Consequently, it is very important to treat the aisle between the rows in time and manually remove unnecessary vegetation from the bushes.
At the same time, experts strongly recommend not to pile up or loosen the soil directly under the zucchini. And all because the roots of culture are located on the surface, and any actions can destroy it.
Fertilizer for courgettes
Feeding squash bed can root and foliar ways.
During the season you need to make 3 dressings:
- Begin to fertilize before the budding dissolved in a bucket of water, 0.5 liters of mullein and 30 g of nitrophoska. Under each bush poured a liter of the mixture.
- The following procedure is repeated during flowering. For this, plants are watered with a liquid prepared from 10 liters of water, taken in 60 g of wood ash and the drug Effecton.
- Finishing the season is completed during fruiting with a similar solution, only in this case, 2 liters of fertilizer should be poured under each root.
Did you know? In cooking, not only the fruits of zucchini were used, but also flowers. They are also fried, boiled, baked, added to salads fresh. And in Greece you will be treated with rice and cheese, baked in courgette petals.
Foliar application for squash in open ground can be carried out at will during fruit ripening. For these purposes, the plant is treated with drugs Bud and Ross.
Prevention and protection against pests and diseases of zucchini
Pumpkin cultures are sensitive to whitefly, melon aphid, slug attacks. They can also be affected by powdery mildew, rot, mold, anthracnose and bacteriosis. In order not to lose the crop, it is important to take preventive measures in time. For the fight against harmful insects, experts recommend insecticides (Decis, Aktara, Phosphamide, Metaphos, Bi - 58 New, Karbofos, Komandor). 
To protect the bushes from fungal and bacterial viral diseases, fungicides are used (Topsin, Bayleton). Also Bordeaux fluid has proven itself well. Using pesticides, consider the recommendations of manufacturers and the timing of decomposition of active substances.
It is advisable to plan all sprinkling after harvesting.
Important! So that vegetables are not affected by pathogenic microorganisms, weekly shoots of zucchini need to be sprayed with copper oxychloride.
When to harvest and how to store crops
There is no specific period for harvesting zucchini. Fruits break as ripening throughout the season. You can taste the first dishes of these delicate vegetables within a half to two months after sowing. Young cultivators with a size of 15-20 cm are suitable for culinary purposes, and only ripe specimens will be needed for winter storage. You can distinguish them from the young by a thick, very hard impenetrable crust. 
Many housewives simply tear off the fruit, while severely damaging the stem. Experts advise harvesting with a sharp knife. Too young samples are cut at the base, and mature - along with the stalk. This is done so that the fruits are well preserved in the winter.
Read about the best recipes and ways of harvesting zucchini for the winter, and do not forget to prepare along with them green garlic, apricots, dogwood, cranberries, spinach, pepper, squash, gooseberries, tomatoes, viburnum, white mushrooms, milk mushrooms.
It is recommended to keep Zelentsy in the refrigerator for no more than 14 days, and mature zucchini can lie for six months without damage. The main thing for this is to find them a dry and cool room with good ventilation. The whole crop is packed in wooden boxes, the bottom of which is pre-lined with pine sawdust. In this case, the fruits should not touch each other. And in order to prevent the penetration of pathogenic microbes and bacteria, many dip the entire stalk into hot paraffin.
In city apartments, it is possible to store ripe zucchini in winter on the balcony or in the refrigerator. In the latter case, it is desirable to wrap each fruit in polyethylene.
Important! It is not desirable to store the fruits of pumpkin crops for too long, because they lose their taste, and closer to the spring, the seeds inside begin to germinate.As you can see, zucchini does not need additional conditions for growth and fruiting. Observing the rules of elementary farming, you can get a bountiful harvest. A few bushes are enough to pamper family dishes from young Zelentsov and make all kinds of preparations for the winter.
