How To Grow Zucchini And Harvest The Zucchini Flower Too

This month of June, the summer solstice tells us that we are experiencing the brightest days of the year. The fruits of the garden begin to set and it is time to take care of them with care. One of the stars of the summer garden is the zucchini (Cucurbita pepo).

How to plant zucchini

He zucchini cultivation begins between March and April with its direct sowing on the terraces.

To do this, they are placed two zucchini seeds 2 cm deep in separate holes one 0.90 m between them.

If you want to overtake themsince February sow them in seedbeds protected in small pots.

When the schools have a pair or two pairs of true leavestransplant them in the garden.

Also you can grow them in deep pots; so you can enjoy in the city its wonderful turgidity and flavor when freshly harvested.

How to grow zucchini: basic care

These are the care that zucchini needs to grow well and bear fruit:

Requires a deep, loose and nutritious soil. He applies a straw mulch. He likes the full sun exposure.Irrigation has to be regular and frequentespecially once flowering has occurred. It gets along well with the sweet corn and baby beans. The three crops are called the “3 sisters” or also the “milpa”.

Keep in mind that they need to grow in full sun in deep, loose, nutritious soil.

The watering must be abundant and frequentespecially from flowering.

What compost do zucchini need?

Using the compost well is another of the secrets of success when growing zucchini. put a handful of compost in the planting hole or when transplanting it will be vital. When the bushes are somewhat developed, place a thin layer covered with straw to keep their powerful roots cool and nourished.

When is the zucchini harvested?

Pick the zucchini fruits when they are still youngthat is, when they still present a turgid and lustrous appearance.

It is important to prevent them from ripening, since when the seeds begin to form, the production of female flowers is blocked.

Zucchini flower: distinguish if it is female or male

zucchini develop male and female flowers on the same plant. Both are yellow, large and with a flared corolla. First the male ones grow, and then the female ones. The number of male flowers is always greater.

The flowers open at dawn or in the early morning hours. Pollination is entomophilous: they do it insects, which carry pollen on their bodies from the anthers of the male flowers to the stigmas of the female ones. If fertilized, the ovary will give rise to the fruit and the fertilized ovules to the seeds.

It’s simple differentiate the sex of each zucchini flower looking inside: the male ones have a central bulge that is not seen in the female ones.

Once fertilized, at female flowers thicken the basewhich shows the imminent development of the fruit. male flowers are perfect to include in salads or eat breaded.

Leave the female flowers on the bush to get zucchini and harvest the flowers to include them in your recipes.

Within two months, you will also be able to harvest your first courgettes and you will continue harvesting until autumn. If you sow staggered you will have continuous harvests.

Choosing and Storing Zucchini Seeds

At the end of the season, save seeds to sow the following spring.

choose a beautiful zucchini and let it mature. Inside the fruit will be the seeds, which are flat and elongated with one rounded end and the other pointed. Clean them and store them in a dry and dark place.