Zucchini - this guest from distant America, who arrived from there with potatoes, has long and reliably been registered in domestic gardens. Many delicious dishes are prepared from it, and preparations are made for the winter. Growing zucchini is not difficult, the main thing is to plant them correctly.
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Pre-sowing preparation
Like the seeds of other pumpkin crops, squash is recommended to be heated before sowing. This can be done by placing them overnight on a moderately heating radiator or by leaving them on a sunlit windowsill for a week. Warming up the seeds should start the process of their growth and help them hatch relatively amicably.
A few days before sowing, the seeds should be soaked in water for 2-3 hours, then spread on a damp cloth in one layer and wrap it up. At the same time, it is not recommended to take gauze material or cotton wool, since during germination, tails appear in the seeds, which can cling to the cellular or soft material.
Under favorable temperature conditions (24-26 ° C), the seeds hatch in 2-3 days. This means that they can already be sown in open ground or in special containers, if it is planned to grow seedlings from them. It is advisable not to delay this procedure, since the tails of the seeds grow very quickly and begin to intertwine with each other, which makes it difficult to disengage them later.
Tanks and soil
The usual transplant from a common container is poorly tolerated by zucchini, therefore, for growing seedlings, the pot form will be preferable, in which a separate container is allocated for each sprout. It should be spacious, since the zucchini, even the sprouts, have a strong root system. The optimal and economical option is plastic cups with a capacity of 0.5 liters or any other container of the same volume.
Special soil for seedlings is sold in stores, but you can make an earthen mixture and independently, for which they take soil, humus, peat, sawdust (in a ratio of 1: 1: 0.5: 0.5) and well mix them. The resulting substance is filled into cups without tamping it strongly.
Growing seedlings
Sowing seeds is carried out 1-1.5 months before the intended transplantation of seedlings to the garden bed. Sprouted seeds are deepened into the ground by 1-3 cm, placing them about 5 cm apart, after straightening the roots. Then the soil is well spilled. The first shoots should appear in 3-4 days.
When growing marrow seedlings, it is very important to provide it with favorable temperature conditions in the range of 20-23 degrees. If the temperature is higher, then the sprouts will become unnecessarily stretched.
You should also take care of the required light regime. When containers with seedlings are displayed on the window sills of the windows on the south side of the room, there is no need for additional lighting, but if the windows "look" in other directions, then it is better to organize it.
Zucchini is a moisture-loving culture, so the soil in containers with seedlings should not dry out. Usually, fertilizing is combined with watering. The first is carried out a week after germination with a mixture of superphosphate with urea, which is diluted in water. The second - after another 7 days, nitrophobic, taking 1 tsp. l. per liter of water.
The fact that the seedlings are ready for transplanting to the garden can be judged by the presence of several true leaves in the plants. A week before this procedure, the seedlings must be hardened, for which they are taken out into the street or the room is well ventilated.
Some summer residents are afraid to grow zucchini seedlings on their own, but in fact there is nothing difficult about this. You just need to take it. Then there will be more guarantees of a good harvest, and as a bonus - a feeling of moral satisfaction.
Do you grow zucchini outdoors?
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