Watering zucchini in open ground: how often and how much

Watering zucchini in open ground is necessary in accordance with certain rules. In this case, the culture will not suffer from either drought or excess moisture.

Watering rules

Watering zucchini after planting in open ground is carried out in accordance with certain recommendations. The general rules are as follows:

1. Watering is carried out only in the early morning or in the evening. You can not moisten the culture in the middle of the day. This can cause burns on the leaves and overheating of the roots.
2. The soil is shed about 40 cm deep. If the moisture is superficial, the zucchini will suffer from a lack of water. But overwatering causes the roots to rot.
3. When growing zucchini on sandy and sandy soils, moistening is carried out a little more often. If the soil is clayey, watering should be done less frequently, since water evaporates from the ground much more slowly.
4. Moisture should flow directly under the root of the zucchini. It is necessary to ensure that it does not fall on the stems and leaves.

After watering the zucchini, it is recommended to mulch with chopped straw or sawdust. This will slow the evaporation of water from the soil and also prevent the active growth of weeds. The thickness of the mulch layer should be about 7 cm.

What should be the water

Water the zucchini only with slightly tepid water at a temperature of about 20 ° C. It is recommended to place a watering can or a large barrel under the sun in advance so that the liquid warms up slightly.

Particular attention should be paid to the composition of water. Watering is carried out with a soft liquid without a large amount of hard impurities. Tap water needs to stand for several days before use so that the salts precipitate at the bottom of the container.

It is undesirable to water zucchini with water from a river or lake – harmful microorganisms may be present in it

How to water zucchini outdoors

The rules for watering zucchini in the open field after planting depend on the stage of vegetation. The need for crop moisture varies at different stages of development.

How to water zucchini in the open field during flowering

During flowering, zucchini needs more liquid than at other stages. Therefore, they are usually moistened every 3-4 days, adding 8-10 liters of water under each bush.

Proper watering of zucchini in the open field during flowering helps to avoid drying and dying off of the leaves. The culture fully forms the ovaries, the fruits develop quickly and do not die in the first stages.

Watering zucchini must be carried out taking into account weather conditions. If it rains constantly during the flowering of the crop, additional moisture should be discarded. Otherwise, excess water will lead to the development of waterlogging of the soil.

How to water zucchini in the open field during fruiting

Watering zucchini in open ground during fruiting is carried out in accordance with weather conditions. On clear warm days with little precipitation, moisturizing is performed 1-2 times a week. With frequent rains, the intensity is reduced so that the zucchini does not become watery and does not begin to rot.

When irrigating, you need to focus on the condition of the soil. If the top layer of soil is almost dry, it is worth once again moistening the beds. If the soil can still be squeezed into a tight lump in your hand, it is better to postpone watering.

How to water zucchini in the open field in the heat

The vegetable crop does not suffer from a short drought, but with a long absence of precipitation, it requires additional moisture. Watering zucchini in the open field in the heat is carried out at least twice a week. With active flowering and fruit formation, 8-10 liters of water are consumed for each bush, only 2-3 liters are enough for young plants.

The lack of moisture in the heat leads to the fact that ripening fruits lose their juiciness and shrink in size.

How to water zucchini in the open field after planting

Watering zucchini in open ground after germination should be regular, but moderate. It is necessary to constantly keep the substrate in a slightly damp state. At the same time, it is impossible to fill in young plants – their need for water is not too high. An average of only 1,5 liters of liquid is spent on one bush. Watering is carried out every 5-6 days.

When planting a crop in open ground with seeds, the soil must be abundantly moistened even before sowing the material. After that, watering the zucchini until shoots is usually not necessary. If we are talking about transplanting bushes obtained at home into open ground, the garden bed is also prepared in advance. Seedlings are moved to wet soil, re-watering is performed after 5-7 days.

How to water zucchini seedlings at home

When growing a crop through seedlings, the main attention should be paid to moisture. For a week, watering zucchini after germination in containers is necessary at least once. Humidification is carried out exactly under the root, along the perimeter of the container or with a spray gun – this allows you not to erode the soil.

Watering seedlings of zucchini on the windowsill daily or every other day is strictly prohibited. It is necessary to control the condition of the soil and prevent its waterlogging. In conditions of excessive moisture, seedlings suffer from blackleg and other fungal ailments, slow down their development and eventually die.

Excessive watering leads to the fact that the seedlings of zucchini lose their tone, the leaves become watery and pale

Features of watering in a greenhouse

How often to water zucchini in a greenhouse depends on the level of humidity. In a greenhouse, water from the soil evaporates more slowly, so it is necessary to assess the actual state of the soil. On average, watering is done once a week, in very hot weather – a little more often, every 4-5 days. Up to 12 liters of water are consumed per plant, the soil must be loosened after the procedure.

In order for the zucchini in the greenhouse to feel good and not suffer from waterlogging, it is necessary to ventilate them daily. The greenhouse is open for 20-30 minutes in the evenings.

Ways of watering

When growing zucchini, watering can be done in several ways. Which one to choose depends on personal convenience and on the scale of landings.

Manual

If the zucchini on the site occupy a couple of small beds, it is most convenient to water it manually. Can be used with or without nozzle. In any case, water should flow directly under the root, so it is better not to use wide tips.

Hose irrigation

If the beds on the site are quite large, but the zucchini as a whole occupy a modest area, you can water them using a hose. A spray nozzle is put on it, the second end is lowered into a barrel or a clean reservoir. It is undesirable to connect a hose directly to the water supply, as the water will be too hard.

It is recommended to use a small sprayer. Do not bring the hose close to the zucchini, otherwise the soil will be eroded.

Irrigation of zucchini from a hose is carried out after sunset or in the morning no later than 8-9 hours

Drip

If the zucchini on the site occupy a significant area, it is convenient to organize drip irrigation for them. The essence of the method lies in the fact that a system consisting of thin hoses or plastic tubes is installed along the perimeter of the plantings and between the beds. They make small holes through which water seeps exactly to the roots and does not fall on the stems and leaves.

Humidification in this case is moderate, but continuous. The soil does not swamp, but does not dry out in hot weather. The system requires minimal control and becomes especially convenient if the gardener cannot be present at the summer cottage all the time.

Dosed

Dosed is usually called drip irrigation for zucchini from plastic bottles. In this case, containers with a volume of 2-5 liters are installed next to the bushes and several narrow holes are pierced in the lower part, immersed in the ground.

The control of the metered watering system is very simple – you need to regularly add fresh portions of warm settled water to the bottles. When using the method, it must be borne in mind that moisture will be very moderate. In extreme heat and drought, as well as during the flowering and fruiting of zucchini, you will have to resort to additional watering methods, otherwise the bushes will suffer from a lack of water.

When organizing metered watering, the bottles must be buried in the soil by about 15 cm

Sprinkling

In farms, when growing zucchini for irrigation, the sprinkling method is used. The bottom line is that several hoses with sprayers are placed on the territory and connected to the central water supply or other sources. Water under strong pressure passes through the system and disperses over the beds in the form of a kind of mist, consisting of small drops.

The advantage of sprinkling is that the design is as automated as possible. The gardener only needs to turn on the system in the evenings for 20-30 minutes, and then turn off the water supply again. The disadvantage of this method is the rather high consumption of moisture, especially during a period of severe drought.

wick

With a small planting area, watering zucchini is often done using the wick method. The humidification system is organized as follows:

1. They install containers around the perimeter and between the beds – plastic bottles, large cans or buckets.
2. Fill containers with soft settled water.
3. Quite long bundles, or wicks, are twisted from dense fabric.
4. They are added dropwise at the roots of zucchini by 15-20 cm.
5. Lower the free ends into a container of water.
6. If necessary, tie weights to the harnesses so that they do not slip out of the containers.

Homemade wicks will be completely saturated with moisture and will give it to the ground until the water in the container runs out. When using the method, you will need to add liquid to containers from time to time. Most likely, to moisten the zucchini, you will need to place several bundles next to the bushes at once, otherwise watering will be too scarce.

With wick watering, the water in the containers in the beds naturally warms up to a warm temperature during the day.

Common mistakes

Although watering zucchini seems like a simple procedure, inexperienced gardeners often make blunders:

1. Untimely hydration. Vegetable bushes in the beds should not be watered in the daytime or in the morning after 8-9 hours. In this case, either the roots of the culture will overheat, or the moisture will simply evaporate in the sun without being completely absorbed into the ground.
2. Use of cold water. In this case, the danger for zucchini is a sharp temperature drop. In hot weather, it causes severe damage to the roots, peripheral feeding processes are injured and die. In addition, cold water is worse absorbed into the ground, which causes a moisture deficit.
3. No loosening. After each watering, the soil at the roots of zucchini must be carefully ted. Otherwise, a hard crust will form on the soil surface. It will impair the access of water and oxygen to the roots, which will slow down the development of the culture.
4. Irregular watering. When moistening zucchini, you need to direct a jet or drops of water under the root, and not on the leaves and stems. Otherwise, burns may appear on the green parts of the bushes in sunny weather.

As necessary, weeding is performed for zucchini when grown in the ground. With regular moisture, weeds appear on the beds, taking away nutrients from vegetable bushes.

Excessive watering and waterlogging of the soil provoke rot of the roots of zucchini and the tips of ripening fruits.

Conclusion

Watering zucchini in open ground should be regular, but moderate. Vegetable crops react poorly to both drought and excess moisture. For irrigation, you can use only lukewarm and soft water.