Maine Garden Ideas
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        • Growing Zucchini
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        • 4 Best Tomatoes for Short Seasons - Early Tomatoes
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        • How to Make Sun-Dried Tomatoes at Home
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How to Grow Zucchini

zucchini plant Picture
Growing zucchini in the home garden is relatively easy and doesn't require a lot of space. Even though zucchini plants are huge with gigantic leaves, they do not vine like other squash and do not require staking. One or two healthy plants provide enough fresh zucchini for a family of four and can be tucked into the corners of raised beds or along the border of the garden creating lush green foliage and abundant fruit.

Location: Zucchini prefers a sunny location that receives six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day - but hours of sunlight do not need to be consecutive. A few hours of sunlight in early morning, noontime shade and direct sun in the afternoon works well. As long as the hours of direct sunlight add up to at least six, your zucchini will thrive.

Preparing soil: Zucchini prefers rich well-drained soil. Till the soil to a depth of eight to 10 inches and amend with generous amounts of organic matter, such as compost or well-rotted manure. This improves the texture of the soil, adds slow release nutrients and promotes both good aeration and drainage.

Fertilizer: Apply 5-10-10 fertilizer before planting, following the application rate on the container. Work granular fertilizer into the soil well to avoid contact with seeds or plant parts, as fertilizer "burns" the seeds and damages your plants. I apply water-soluble fertilizer to my zucchini plants every two weeks during production.

Planting: Plant zucchini seeds in the spring after the soil has warmed to at least 60 degree F, all danger of frost has passed and daytime temperatures remain in the 70s. Planting seeds in cold soil often results in seeds that rot in the soil or fail to germinate.

Watering: Keep the soil evenly moist, watering deeply once or twice a week - or whenever the soil feels dry to the touch one inch below the surface. Zucchini grown in raised beds may need daily watering.

Blooms: Zucchini plants produce both male and female blooms. Male blooms appear first to attract flying insects and female blooms appear a week or two later. Male blooms appear on a slender stem, whereas the female bloom has a swollen ovary at its base. When the blossom is pollinated, the bloom shrivels and dies, but the tiny zucchini at the base begins to grow.

Harvesting: Harvest baby zucchinis as soon as they are large enough to eat. For the tenderest fruits pick them when they are no more than two inches in diameter and are four to eight inches long. As the fruit matures, the outer skin toughens and seeds enlarge inside the zucchini. Harvest all fruits as soon as they reach this size to encourage your zucchini plant to continue producing new zucchinis - otherwise the zucchini plant will cease production. If you want large zucchini for making zucchini bread or muffins, wait until the end of the season and allow the remaining zucchinis to mature on the vine.


 
Copyright © 2014 Nannette Richford



  • Home
  • Garden Thyme Blog
  • Themes
    • Butterfly Gardens
    • Moon Gardens
    • Sensory Gardens
    • All About Fairies
  • Flowers
    • Annual Flowers >
      • Alyssum
      • Cosmos
      • Geraniums
      • Marigolds
      • Morning Glories
      • Nasturtiums
      • Petunias >
        • Reviving Petunias
      • Snapdragons
      • Sunflowers
      • Sweet Peas
      • Zinnias
    • Perennial Flowers >
      • Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Hortensia’)
      • Lupines
      • Purple Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea)
    • Maine Wildflowers
  • Veggies
    • Warm Season Vegetables >
      • About Beans >
        • Growing Beans
        • Growing Pole Beans
        • How to Make a Teepee Trellis
      • About Corn >
        • Growing Corn
        • What is Baby Corn, anyway?
        • Can you grow corn in containers?
      • Cucumbers >
        • Grow a cucumber in a bottle
        • Growing Pickling Cucumbers
        • Growing cucamelons (Mexican Gherkin)
        • Why do cucumbers blossom but fail to set fruit?
        • Trellising Cucumbers
        • Making Cucumber Relish
        • Powdery Mildew on Cucumbers
      • Melons
      • Peppers >
        • Growing Peppers
      • Squash >
        • Growing Zucchini
        • Spaghetti Squash
      • Tomatoes >
        • How to Harden Off Tomato Plants
        • How (and when) to Prune Tomatoes
        • Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) for Tomatoes
        • Blossom End Rot in Tomatoes
        • Growing Cherry Tomatoes in Hanging Baskets
        • 4 Best Tomatoes for Short Seasons - Early Tomatoes
        • 5 Early Maturing Tomatoes for Short Season Gardening
        • How to Ripen Green Tomatoes
        • How to Make Sun-Dried Tomatoes at Home
        • How to Grow a Pomato Plant
    • Cool Season Vegetables >
      • Cole Crops
      • Greens >
        • How to Grow Spinach
        • How to Grow Malabar Spinach
        • How to Grow Swiss Chard
        • Harvesting and Cooking Beet Greens
        • How to Grow Microgreens
      • Onions & Garlic >
        • How to Grow Garlic
        • How to Grow Onions
      • Peas >
        • Growing Garden (shelling) Peas
        • Growing Sugar Snap Peas
      • Potatoes >
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Containers
        • How to Grow Potatoes in Hay Bales
      • Root Crops >
        • Growing Beets
        • How to Grow Carrots
        • Turnips vs Rutabagas
  • Herbs
    • Growing Basil
    • Growing Chives
    • Growing Lavender
    • Herbal Tea Garden
    • How to Grow a Culinary Herb Garden
    • How to Grow Herbs in Sponges
    • Colonial Herb Garden - Classroom Project
    • Herbed Butter
    • Making Herbed Oils
  • Gardening Basics
    • Seed Starting Basics
    • Grafting Basics
    • Soil >
      • Starting a New Garden
      • How to Prepare Soil
      • How to Test Soil Drainage
      • What Type of Soil Do You Have
      • Soil Mix Recipe for Containers
      • How to Make Compost Tea
      • How to Use Mulch
  • Garden Pests
    • How to Control Japanese Beetles
    • How to Control Blister Beetles
    • How to Get Rid of Colorado Potato Beetles
  • Birds
    • Hummingbirds >
      • DIY Hummingbird Feeders from Recycled Bottles
      • Annuals for Hummingbird Gardens
      • Perennials for Hummingbird Gardens
    • About Birdseed
    • Choosing a Birdfeeder
  • Fiddleheads and Fairies
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • How to Marinate Roasted Vegetables