by Jennifer Poindexter
Do you ever feel sorry for zucchini? It gets lumped in with squash on a regular basis. The reason being is that every zucchini is a type of squash. However, not every squash is a type of zucchini. This is why it can become confusing when growing zucchini in a garden.
Most of the mistakes gardeners make with zucchini can apply to squash, but not every mistake for squash applies to zucchini. Zucchini is going to finally have its day. We’re going to discuss the typical mistakes gardeners make when raising this vegetable. If you’ve ever had a hard time growing zucchini, no worries because the solutions will be shared, too.
If you’re looking forward to growing healthy zucchini plants in your next garden, here’s what you should avoid.
1. Not Planting in Rich Soil
Growing conditions are important for every plant. This is why it’s vital that you understand what zucchini needs in a grow space.
Once you know, it’s your job to provide it. The closer you get to the perfect growing location, the better your zucchini plants should do.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
Soil is one of the most important ingredients to an ideal grow space. Zucchini plants are heavy feeders, and the soil must be able to handle this.
Therefore, ensure you amend the soil prior to planting zucchini plants. It should also be fluffy and well-draining.
This will not only provide the nutrients the plants need, but it will also supply water and deter disease simultaneously.
Learn more. Improve Your Soil
2. Picking the Wrong Variety
There are a few different varieties of zucchini. They’re all fast-growing, but they also all love warm weather.
The varieties vary by shape and this is where some gardeners make a mistake. Picking the right variety of plant can make all the difference in your growing experience.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
Some zucchini varieties are straight, and others are round. Regardless of variety, they shouldn’t be planted until two weeks after the final frost date.
Round zucchini takes approximately two months to reach harvest. The straight varieties of zucchini take anywhere from a month and half to two months to reach harvest.
The variety you choose will depend upon your grow space and planting zone. If you live in a colder planting zone, it might be necessary to start your seeds indoors or grow zucchini in a greenhouse setting.
Also, if you’re growing in a smaller garden area, you’ll want to choose a variety which takes up less space.
Take all of this into consideration when growing zucchini in your home garden.
Learn more. Squash Varieties
3. Planting Too Early or Late
As mentioned above, zucchini is a warm-weather crop. Some gardeners make the mistake of jumping the gun on planting too early in the spring.
At other times, gardeners make the mistake of planting too late in the season. I discussed how to avoid this mistake a little in the previous point.
Do keep in mind the time it takes each plant to reach harvest. You should also be mindful of frost dates to ensure you grow the plants when the conditions are right.
Learn more: How to Find Your USDA Garden Zone
4. Shallow Watering
Shallow watering is a mistake, with most plants, unless they have shallow roots. Otherwise, shallow watering discourages the plant from developing stronger root systems.
It also doesn’t provide an adequate amount of water each time you water your plants. Not to mention, it’s more work on the gardener.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You can avoid shallow watering by using the deep watering method. This is when you water for a longer period of time, fewer days of the week.
This ensures the roots receive water during each application, but it also encourages stronger root systems because they’ll dig deeper to find more water between watering sessions.
When deep watering, it’s also wise to water your plants in the morning or during the warmer parts of the day.
This will ensure the foliage has time to dry before the cooler night temperatures move in. If you water your plants at night, it provides the perfect breeding ground for disease.
Learn more. Watering Tips
5. Adequate Grow Space
Every plant needs room to grow. If you don’t give your plants enough space to grow, or avoid overcrowding in your beds, it can lead to a multitude of issues.
Zucchini is no different. Each plant must be provided room to grow. Unfortunately, some people plant them too closely and have a hard time raising this plant from this one tiny mistake.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You can avoid overcrowding your zucchini plants by putting the right amount of space between plants and rows.
In general, zucchini plants need three feet of space all the way around. If you plant them too closely together, you could create room for disease to set in.
Also, zucchini plants are heavy feeders. If you plant them too closely, they’ll compete for nutrients in the soil and starve each other out.
Take this into consideration when raising zucchini plants in your garden.
6. Not Feeding Your Zucchini
It has been said multiple times, at this point, but it’s important. Zucchini plants are heavy feeders. This means you should amend the soil prior to planting, watch spacing to keep plants from competing against each other, but it also means you must feed your plants throughout the grow season.
Avoiding this mistake, obviously, means you’ll need to feed your plants more frequently. However, it’s important to know what types of fertilizer to use and how frequently you should feed them.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
You can avoid this mistake by feeding your zucchini plants. They should have a balanced fertilizer applied to them.
The first time you should fertilize these plants is when the seeds first begin to sprout, assuming you directly sowed them in your garden.
The only other time they’ll need fertilizer is when they begin to bloom. This will give them the boost they need as they start producing fruit.
Learn more. Fertilizing options.
7. Not Enough Pollination
Pollination is a big part of gardening. Without proper pollination, most plants won’t grow. Therefore, you must do what it takes to ensure that pollination occurs.
Some gardeners don’t think much about pollination, or they don’t know what to do to encourage pollination in their garden. Therefore, this mistake happens more frequently than most realize.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
If there isn’t enough pollination taking place in your garden, you have two choices. One, you can plant things to invite pollinators into your garden.
This could include annual flowers or herbs. I like to plant marigolds in my garden because they attract pollinators while their scent discourages unwanted visitors.
Your other option is to pollinate by hand. Use your finger to remove pollen from a male flower and place it in a female flower.
This works if you have a small number of plants. If you’re growing multiple zucchini plants, it might serve you well to make your garden a welcoming space for pollinators.
Learn more. Pollinator Friendly Gardens
8. Ignoring Pests and Diseases
I’m guilty of making this mistake myself from time to time. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the gardening season and forget to check for potential threats or problems
To avoid this mistake, you must not only stay aware but know what pests and diseases could harm your plants.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
The most common diseases which impact zucchini are fungal diseases such as powdery mildew. You can treat most fungal diseases with a fungicide.
Bacterial wilt can also be found in some gardens. There’s no cure for this disease, so your best bet is to keep cucumber beetles out of your garden as they can spread the disease among your plants.
Blossom end rot is another potential threat. It’s caused when your soil doesn’t contain enough calcium. You can sprinkle powdered milk at the base of your plant to supplement this nutrient.
The pests which commonly impact zucchini plants are squash vine borers and squash bugs. You can apply row covers to your plants or treat your zucchini plants with an insecticide if you notice any pests moving into their area.
Learn more. Squash Vine Borers. Squash Bugs.
9. Planting in the Wrong Garden Space
Have you ever heard of companion planting? Though you don’t have to practice it, there’s some guidance in this type of planting.
When you’re planting your crops around things to make them thrive, you’re avoiding the plants which would cause competition for nutrients or invite more pests which could harm zucchini plants.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
When planting zucchini, try to plant them around other crops which will help them thrive. You can plant zucchini near corn, beans, peas, tomatoes, radishes, and herbs.
Try to avoid planting zucchini near potatoes as they need many of the same nutrients as zucchini and will cause your plants to starve.
10. Not Enough Light
Most plants enjoy sunlight and require it to grow. Lighting is an important growing condition which should be considered when picking a grow space.
Understand what zucchini plants need in a grow space and provide it. This is a simple mistake that can be avoided with a little research and planning.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
Zucchini plants love the sun. They should be planted where they’ll receive full sunlight. This equates to the plants receiving six to eight hours of sunlight each day.
Learn more. Full Sun
11. Not Harvesting at the Right Time
It truly stinks when you’ve worked hard to raise a plant and a sudden growth spurt happens. Then you miss the ideal time to harvest your crops.
Therefore, it’s important to understand how to keep watch on your crops and also to know the best time to harvest your zucchini.
How to Avoid this Mistake:
Zucchini should be harvested when it’s young, bright green, and tender. If you let it become too large it will become tough.
When the fruit reaches approximately six inches, it should be ready for harvest. If you come across a zucchini that looks like a club, you’ve missed it.
However, you can still pick the larger fruits and use them for baking. Be sure to cut zucchini away from the plant, using scissors or shears, to avoid causing any harm.
Also, if you’ve had a recent rainstorm, keep an eye on your zucchini plants. Chances are they might have a huge growth spurt. Be sure to check your plants daily to make sure you don’t miss an opportunity to harvest.
Growing zucchini isn’t a difficult process. It boils down to understanding what the plants need in a grow space, knowing how to properly care for them, and staying alert to potential threats.
If you can do these things, you’ll only need to keep a watchful eye on your harvest to ensure you pick the zucchini at the best time.
More About Growing Zucchini
https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-summer-squash-and-zucchini-home-gardens
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening/scene6420.htmlÂ
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