The zuchinis They are one of the symbolic vegetables of summer. We enjoy them when they are in the season and try to cultivate them in our garden, even simply potif we do not have other spaces available. Zucchini with minor dimensions are more suitable for growing in pots, the Round zucchini and the climbing varietieswhich will be able to develop on special supports and wraps.
How to sow zucchini
The courgette seeds are light in color and flat and oval. Sowing in the seedbed of courgettes can take place from the months of February or March. Instead, you can sow the courgettes directly in pots From April to July. You are therefore still in time to sow your first zucchini. Get some biological seeds or as natural as possible to obtain high quality vegetables. The courgette harvest takes place normally from April to September and is variable according to the moment of sowing and the region in which they are grown.
Sow in seedbed
You can use a simple yogurt jar as a seedbed for your courgettes. Back the seed about 3 millimeters away from the surface of the soil, water with a sprayer every evening and keep sheltered from the direct sun. In a few days you will observe the development of the sprouts and the first growth of the seedling, which can be transferred to an intermediate pot after the first two leaves are sprouted. When 4 or 6 real leaves are born – the first two leaves are “fake” – you can draw your seedling in a defintive vasepreferably round or square and rather large in shape, that is, it has a diameter and a height of at least 30-35 centimeters.
How to prepare the vases
You can start the cultivation of courgettes in pots starting from a seedling purchased or obtained directly by you starting from a seedbed. In late spring and in summer you can sow the seedlings directly in pots, remembering that sowing in seedbed allows you to grow more specimens and to Choose the strongest seedlings.
For the preparation of the final pot in which to grow the courgettes, cover the bottom with a layer of balls of expanded clay and choose the rich and biological soil (if you buy it, check the certification and indications on the package). You can enrich the soil with the home compost. At the time of the labor, you will have to create a basin in the center of the soil and make sure that the leaves at the base of the zucchini seedling are as close as possible to the ground surface. In the case of climbing courgettes, equip yourself with sticks to be used as braces and wires with which to eventually tie the plants to support them better.
When to collect courgettes
As for the harvest, it is possible that the first courgettes are very small, they dry out or tend to fall from the plant. Their removal will encourage one better development of subsequent vegetables. Collect the courgettes with the help of a knife, teasing the base and making sure not to damage the stems and leaves of the plant. The courgette harvest can continue for over a month.
How to distinguish male and female courgette flowers
Many of you will love i courgette flowers. They stand out in female flowers And male flowers. Female flowers develop on the top of the courgette and must not be collected, otherwise the courgette will cease to develop. The male flowers are distinguished by their long stem and can be collected in the morning, when their corollas open. However, do not collect all the male flowers at once, for Avoid pollination problems And in order not to hinder the abundance of your harvest and the growth of the courgettes themselves. The same distinction also applies to i pumpkin flowers.
How to water and treat courgettes
In summer watered your zucchini vases athe early morning and to the eveningwith a simple sprinkle. The too abundant watering could lead the roots to rot and the leaves to dry out. Zucchini plants love theexposure to the sunFor this reason, choose the sunniest area of the balcony or courtyard to place your vases. To prevent the plants from falling down, do not water the leaves and put them off sheltered from the rain and hail.
What to use against parasites
The care and prevention of adversities that can affect courgettes, and that can be caused by aphids, mushrooms or bacteria, prevent with a garment from garlic, to be sprayed every 2 or 3 days on the soil in the evening. Bring to boil a garlic head chopped in A liter of boiling water And let it simmer for 15 minutes. Then let cool, filter and spray at the base of the plant and on the soil around it.
Another useful advice, valid for quite large vessels and in the garden, consists in plant one or more cloves of garlic In the vicinity of the zucchini plants, so that the prevention of diseases takes place in a completely natural way. It is a technique inspired bysynergistic agriculture And it can be used to protect all the garden plants especially from aphids and fungal diseases. The garlic decoction it is preserved Without problems in a bottle or in a sprayer, placed in the shelter from the light, For at least a week.
