Planting zucchini for seedlings

Zucchini is a favorite and popular vegetable. There are a lot of application possibilities, excellent dietary taste and nutritional value have made it a permanent resident in summer cottages. Anyone who first decided to grow seedlings of zucchini on their own is looking for answers to questions that arise a lot. When is the best time to sow seeds for seedlings of zucchini, how to grow healthy zucchini for seedlings, what to do if someone eats seedlings?

Grow zucchini in familiar ways:

• direct sowing in the ground;
• seedlings.

Today we will consider the second option – advantages, technology, nuances.

Advantages of the seedling method

Zucchini ripen fairly quickly. A vegetable is sown with seeds when they do not strive to get too early production and try to combine zucchini with other fruits. After all, a salad or stew with tomatoes, carrots is much tastier than a mono-dish. But the seedling method is widespread everywhere. What makes it so popular? The benefits of growing zucchini through seedlings that are very important. The main ones are:

1. Early quality harvest. Properly grown seedling seedling? gives strong healthy plants that grow quickly, do not get sick and bear fruit well.
2. All plants are planted. When sowing in the ground, there is no certainty that all seeds will sprout well. You have to sow 2-3 seeds in one hole. The seedling method helps to calculate the exact number of plants for planting.
3. Possibility to receive damagezhay in regions with a cool climate and a short summer period.
4. Grade conformity. For seedlings of zucchini, high-quality seeds are chosen, they are properly prepared, which allows all the characteristics of the variety to appear.

Growing seedlings of zucchini requires certain knowledge in order for the result to meet expectations. Let’s start with the selection and preparation of zucchini seeds.

Cooking seed

Even novice gardeners can grow zucchini seedlings. It is important to follow the basic guidelines. Preparation is carried out in several stages. This technology gives confidence that the seedlings of zucchini will be strong.

1. We buy seeds. You need to familiarize yourself with the description and characteristics of zucchini varieties, choose the most suitable for the climate, soil composition and your capabilities. Some gardeners immediately combine several varieties in one area with different colors and ripening periods. This looks decorative and allows for uninterrupted harvesting of zucchini throughout the season. Absolutely fresh seeds try not to use. Plants from such seeds grow very powerful, but yield a much lower yield. They have many male flowers. Seeds from 2 to 4 years of storage have good germination. Zucchini bushes grown from these seeds are weaker, but their yield and disease resistance are higher.
2. Sort. This term refers to the test of zucchini seeds for germination. Experienced vegetable growers place zucchini seeds in a salt filtered solution (30 g of salt per 1 liter of water). Checking time – 1 hour. During this time, high-quality seeds sink to the bottom of the container, and empty ones remain on the surface. The rejected ones are removed, and the good ones are washed with fresh water.
3. I disinfect. Squash seeds are placed in water heated to a temperature of + 50 °. Withstand 6 hours and immediately shift to a cold one. The second option is simpler – a month before sowing, zucchini seeds for seedlings are placed next to a heat source (heater, battery, stove). Another way is to soak the seeds in a solution of an antiviral and antifungal drug. For example, Fitosporin-M, a mixture of Alirin-B + Gamair (1 tablet per 1 liter of water). The treatment is carried out at room temperature for 10-18 hours.
4. We stimulate. For this operation, growth stimulants are used, which can be purchased in specialized stores – “Cycon” or “Albit”. From folk recipes, a solution of baking soda (5 g per 1 liter) and aloe juice are very suitable. The juice is diluted in water (1:1) and the zucchini seeds are placed for 45 minutes.

Currently, there is a sufficient selection of breeding material and hybrid squash, which are not subjected to any processing before sowing. In this case, planting seeds for seedlings is much easier.

Sowing zucchini for seedlings without misses

After careful preparation, it is better to germinate zucchini seeds for seedlings. We wrap them in a damp cloth or gauze, wait 2-3 days and the hatched specimens are ready for planting.

Gardeners love to experiment, so ways to germinate zucchini seeds can be very interesting and unexpected. For example, a homemade mini-greenhouse made of a plastic bottle. The bottle is cut in half. Each part is shortened to reduce the internal space. In the lower part we lay in layers a damp cloth and seeds. Cover with the top and put in a warm place. The seeds germinate very quickly.

Sprouted zucchini seeds for seedlings should be sown immediately. Therefore, many gardeners are limited to the stage of swelling and do not allow the appearance of sprouts. Swollen zucchini seeds can be preserved longer and stored in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf.

When should zucchini be planted? We determine the optimal time for planting in the ground and count the time for which the seedlings will be ready.

The next stage is planting zucchini for seedlings. In order to have a place to plant seeds, we prepare planting soil and containers for seedlings.

The composition of the soil is selected most optimally in ready-made soil mixtures, which can be purchased in specialized stores. They contain a large percentage of humus, have a neutral reaction. An alternative option is to prepare a mixture for seedlings of zucchini yourself. Approximate ratio of parts:

1. Peat – 55-60%, sod land up to 20%, humus 20%, sawdust 10%. To increase the nutritional value, ammonium nitrate (4-6 g), superphosphate (10-15 g), potash fertilizers (6-10 g) are added to the bucket of the mixture.
2. Humus and sod land (1:1). It is good to add ash (1 glass), 20 g of superphosphate and potash fertilizer, a little sand to this composition.
3. Sand and peat in a ratio of 1:1.

It is necessary to control the acidity of the soil. With its high value, ash or chalk is added to the soil mixture.

Preparing a container for seeds

We turn to the preparation of containers for our seedlings. Zucchini seedlings are tender and sensitive to transplantation. Sprouts can take root poorly or, in general, die. This happens if mistakes are made during transplantation or the root system is damaged. It is enough to fall apart to whom the earth, so that the roots of zucchini are torn. Therefore, picking seedlings of zucchini is carried out in rare cases – when you need a lot of space savings and only if you have experience in transplanting small plants. Each zucchini is grown through seedlings in a separate container. Everything that is at hand will do – peat cups, juice bags, plastic containers.

The optimal container volume varies between 0,5-0,8 liters. The soil mixture is poured into it and slightly moistened. The following sequence of actions:

• To a depth of no more than 3 cm, zucchini seeds are placed with the sharp end down. One seed is sown in one container for seedlings;
• Watered with settled water at room temperature;
• The containers are placed in a room with a temperature of 25-30 degrees above zero until germination. The container should not be exposed to direct sunlight.
• After the appearance of the first sprouts of zucchini, the containers are moved to the light and a stable temperature regime is established. Daytime temperature is not more than +17º, night temperature is not more than +14º. If these conditions are not observed, then the seedlings of zucchini will stretch and be weakened at the time of transplantation to a permanent place of residence.
• The temperature is raised after the seedlings get stronger. Now it is maintained in the range of + 22º during the day and + 18º at night.

What actions are needed next? Seedlings of zucchini need to be watered, hardened, loosened the ground and fed.

1. Loosening – regularly, but very carefully. Any damage is detrimental to tender seedlings of zucchini.
2. Watering at least once a week with warm water (20º-22º). The top layer of the earth should be slightly damp and not dry out.
3. We harden seedlings of zucchini gradually. First, we carry out the ventilation of the room, the next step is to start taking the seedlings out into the street. We increase the hardening time gradually to allow the seedlings to adapt to lower temperatures. Before planting for 3 days, we leave containers with seedlings on the street around the clock.
4. Feed seedlings of zucchini need two times before planting. The first time is spilled with a solution of the drug “Buton”. This should be done 8-14 days after seedlings appear. In one liter of water, dilute 2 g of the drug and water the plants. For 2 seedlings of zucchini, you need a glass of solution. The procedure is repeated a second time 10-12 days after the first feeding. Now you need “Effecton” and nitrophoska. Dilute 1 teaspoon of the components in 1 liter of water and water the seedlings of zucchini. Mixture consumption – 1 glass of solution is used for 1 seedling. Many gardeners also carry out the third dressing of zucchini seedlings before planting in the ground. It must be done if humus and mineral fertilizers were not applied during the preparation of the planting soil.

Planting seedlings of zucchini usually takes place a month after the seeds have been sown. But, some summer residents manage to prepare excellent planting material in two weeks. In this case, the container can be taken smaller.

Planting seedlings in a permanent place

The time has come to plant seedlings of our zucchini.

The seedlings are healthy and strong, so the following actions will be as follows:

Site Selection. Although gardeners perform this item much earlier. Usually, the decision on where to plant seedlings of zucchini is made before sowing the seeds. The bed is located in a sunny, windless area.

It is recommended to re-grow zucchini in this place after 3-4 years. Warning! Undesirable predecessors for zucchini are pumpkin, cucumbers, squash.

Zucchini bear fruit well in the place where potatoes, onions, garlic, cauliflower and white cabbage used to grow.

Land preparation for seedlings of zucchini in the selected area. It is better to do it in advance. Already in the fall, after harvesting, they fertilize the soil with compost or humus, apply fertilizers – superphosphate and potash. The first in the amount of 30 g per 1 sq. m, the second – 20 g per 1 sq. m. Then there is a high-quality digging and nothing is done until spring. As soon as the snow melts, loosen the ground slightly and fertilize with saltpeter at 20 g per 1 sq. m, then dug up. Based on the composition of the soil, clay and sawdust are added for sandy, sand and humus for clay.

In the spring, they begin to design the ridges. Zucchini take up enough space. So that the overgrown plants do not interfere and do not shade each other, they maintain a distance between rows of 1,5 m, between each bush – 0,9 m. Organic fertilizers are applied to each well immediately before planting. One tablespoon is enough. Organics are mixed with the ground and the planting of zucchini seedlings begins. It is better to schedule this event for the afternoon or overcast day. Active sun will be detrimental to tender seedlings of zucchini.

If, when growing zucchini for seedlings, you sowed seeds in peat pots, then they are completely buried in the ground along with the plant. Deepen the seedling of zucchini to the first leaves. If there is a threat of frost or a drop in temperature at night, the planted zucchini should be covered. After planting, water the seedling with a solution of “Agricola-5” in proportion to water 1 tbsp. spoon on a bucket. For one well, 1 liter of the composition is required. It is advisable to shade the seedlings of zucchini for several days, so that the seedlings have time to adapt to a new place.

Seedling attack, what to do

Another important question that gardeners often ask. On squash seedlings, someone eats leaves and cotyledons. Often such a nuisance occurs with seedlings that are grown in greenhouses. The boxes are placed on the ground, which allows the pest to get to the seedlings.

And sometimes this can happen after planting seedlings of zucchini for permanent residence. Which of the pests is capable of this and how to help defenseless plants?

The main pest in this case are slugs.. They are able to destroy all planted seedlings in one night. They go hunting after evening watering. The slug eats a lot more than you might think. If you notice this pest in the beds, then you can protect the seedlings of zucchini with the help of ordinary ash or special granules that are scattered around the seedlings.

This technique will also save from the bear, which eats the stems of zucchini seedlings. More precisely, he does not eat, but cuts.

If such a nuisance occurs in an apartment, then it may be small pests living in the ground. Therefore, the soil mixture before planting zucchini seeds for seedlings must be disinfected with a hot solution of potassium permanganate. Or buy special disinfectants.

Conclusion

In order for self-grown zucchini seedlings to meet all expectations, it is necessary to take into account climatic conditions. Try to choose those varieties of zucchini that are well zoned in your area. Hybrid species with specially bred characteristics help out. A short summer involves getting a crop from early varieties, if the heat lasts longer, medium varieties will do. Don’t give up on zucchini. A wonderful variety of zucchini, which will delight not only with delicious fruits, but also with colorful colors.