Zucchini
| Name: | Zucchini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Botanical Name: | Cucurbita pepo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Family: | Cucurbitáceas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Discover sustainable practices, responsible cultivation techniques, and tips to maximize the yield of your crops. Cultivate a more circular and tasty future!
| Name: | Zucchini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Botanical Name: | Cucurbita pepo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Family: | Cucurbitáceas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Calendar:
|
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Zucchini can be classified by the color and shape of their fruits: + Green, white or yellowish + Elongated or globose.
The most classic varieties are: black beauty, compact bush green and medium long white zucchini.
In small gardens, zucchini is a summer crop that adapts well and vegetates correctly in most climates as long as temperatures do not drop below 10-12 ºC continuously. Its optimal temperatures for growing and flowering are between 20ºC and 30ºC. It is capable of withstanding high temperatures, up to 35 ºC, provided it has a good water supply. Zucchini vegetates and blooms best in sunny climates. For all of the above, zucchini are grown outdoors from mid-May to September in cold areas and from early May to October in temperate areas.
Like many horticultural crops, zucchini plants are capable of thriving in many types of soil as long as they have good drainage, although they prefer loose, deep soils with well-decomposed organic matter. It does not tolerate waterlogging and does tolerate some salinity in the soil.
The cultivation of zucchini begins with the creation of a protected seedbed for its subsequent transplant to permanent soil. The zucchini seedbeds are made in 7x7 alveolar trays that will be placed in greenhouses or places very protected from the cold, ensuring that they are at temperatures close to 20ºC and in very well-lit places. One gram of seeds contains between 5 and 8 seeds. One or two seeds will be sown in each socket. If more than one germinates per alveolus, it will clear up, leaving a small plant in each of them. In the alveoli filled with special substrate for seedbeds previously moistened, a small hole about 2 cm deep is made, with a finger or a piece of wood, in which the seeds are deposited. The seeds are then covered with a little peat. or vermiculite and watered abundantly, being careful not to move the substrate. If temperature and humidity conditions are maintained, germination begins 6-8 days after sowing. The seedbed should be watered daily, keeping the substrate always moist, but without excess. If the weather is cold and cloudy, the irrigation frequency will be lowered. If temperatures drop, watering will be reduced, but if they rise, the frequency of watering should be increased. The seedbeds should also be ventilated during the hottest times of the day. If you do not want to make seedbeds, zucchini plants can be easily purchased from professional nurseries who sell them with root balls.
Approximately one month after sowing, the plants will have reached a height of about 12 cm and will have developed 4 to 6 true leaves. After adding decomposed manure with some fertilizer, if it is poor or recently cultivated soil, deep work will be carried out followed by superficial work to refine the layer in which the root balls of the zucchini plants will be placed. In areas with cold climates, it is not advisable to plant until spring is well established. The usual planting framework in small orchards is 1 m between plants and 1 m between rows. Marking the rows with a rope, the zucchini are transplanted with a root ball, the soil is pressed around it and watered abundantly so that the plants are properly established. Zucchini cultivation can also be done on plastic mulch.
Irrigation: The cultivation of zucchini is very demanding in water. The soil must be maintained with constant humidity without being excessive. After planting, throughout the rooting phase in the soil, moisture must be maintained in the root zone and the root ball must not dry out. To do this, short irrigations will be carried out to soak the peat block and the area of soil where the roots of the plant come out. Once the crop has developed and in deep soils, watering every 3-4 days in the hot season is usually sufficient in most cases. Zucchini responds well to drip or furrow irrigation; sprinkler irrigation should be avoided. Weeds: If mulch has not been placed, at the beginning of the crop the appearance of weeds must be controlled by carrying out the necessary weeding. Once the plants have developed, this monitoring will no longer be necessary since the crop itself overcomes the weeds. herbs and if any appear they will be removed manually. Zucchini is a creeping plant of indeterminate growth that generally has a main stem, although sometimes they emit some secondary ones that should be removed. Along the stem it emits leaves, large female flowers and large male flowers separately (it is a monoecious plant). It can be grown without staking, letting the plant occupy the growing land. If it is staking, the humidity inside the plant decreases considerably and the health of the crop improves, especially in rainy climates. You can use individual stakes approximately one and a half meters high to which the stem of the plant will be tied with strips of fabric, which must be strong since the plant always takes on considerable weight at the top. In this crop, leaf removal can be carried out, which consists of eliminating (cutting) the oldest leaves as soon as symptoms of diseases are seen or they deteriorate. This improves their health by increasing the aeration of the plants. At most 3 leaves should be removed in each leaf removal. It is also necessary to eliminate poorly formed fruits or fruits attacked by diseases.
Zucchini are harvested unripe, when they reach a size between 20 and 25 cm in length before their seeds complete their growth and harden. They should be collected daily in the early hours of the morning. To do this, they are cut from the bush, leaving about 2-3 cm of stem on the fruit, being very careful not to damage the stem or nearby leaves, and they are transported in boxes.
Zucchini should be stored in the refrigerator so that they do not dehydrate before consumption, especially if they are very tender.
