Zucchini is a popular vegetable to grow in the garden for a number of reasons. They are prolific, relatively easy to grow and unsurpassed for their flavor quality and central place on the summer table. However, you can make some typical wrong decisions when planting and pay a bitter price for it. However, this danger no longer exists if you have come across this article. Growing zucchini – common mistakes and how to avoid them are here!
Growing zucchini – mistakes to avoid
If you’re looking forward to growing healthy zucchini in your next garden, here are some mistakes to avoid.
Choosing the wrong type of zucchini
As with many other garden plants, there are a variety of varieties of zucchini that you can grow, but that doesn’t mean they’re all right for your garden. Your choice of strain should be based on:
the growing area the microclimate the space you have available
growing area: When choosing a zucchini variety, it is very important to know how much time it will take to reach maturity and relate this to the growing season you have.
Notice: The growing season is that part of the year when local conditions (ie rainfall, temperature, daylight) allow for normal plant growth.
For example, if your growing season is short, it wouldn’t make sense to select strains that take longer to mature.
Microclimate: If you live in an area with a colder climate, you should consider that growing zucchini in a greenhouse might be a better option for you as they are mostly heat-loving plants. However, there are also varieties that can withstand lower temperatures better.
The available space: Another factor to consider is the space you have on hand for planting. Zucchini plants are tall, but there are varieties that are better suited to compact growing than others. That said, if you’re looking to grow zucchini in a space-efficient manner, you should choose a variety that produces smaller fruit. Such are, for example, “Floridor F1” – a variety of zucchini that is ideal even for cultivation in pots, and “Patio Star F1”, which grows very compactly and can therefore also be grown on balconies without any problems.
Another option for growing zucchini to save space is to plant them vertically. Not using this opportunity is another common mistake that we will address in a moment in this article.
Too little light and poor drainage
Growing zucchini – mistakes you should avoid: Like many other plants, zucchini also have certain location requirements. One of them is that they need a lot of sunlight to grow well. It would therefore be a big mistake to plant them in a shady place.
Tipp: Make sure the location where you plant the zucchini plants gets at least six to eight hours of sunlight per day.
You also need to be careful to grow your zucchini plants in a spot with good drainage. Otherwise, waterlogging becomes a serious problem for your plants and makes them vulnerable to problems like root rot.
Planting with bad neighbors or as a monoculture
Growing Zucchini – Mistakes to Avoid: Planting in a monoculture is a wrong move!
Notice: Monoculture means the cultivation of a single plant species over several years on the same area.
In order for your plants to grow and thrive healthily, you need to create the right mixed culture in your garden.
Notice: Mixed culture is the cultivation of different plant species together, which positively influence and support each other in terms of growth, yield and health.
One of the most common growing methods for zucchini plants is the combination with corn and beans – the so-called “three sisters”. The Indians planted the three crops together for the following reasons: The zucchini casts shade on the soil, reducing its moisture loss. The corn, in turn, helps the beans grow, and the beans add nitrogen to the soil, which is needed by corn and zucchini. You can see the three cultures interacting positively and that is exactly the idea behind intercropping.
Notice: Avoid planting zucchini near potatoes as they require many of the same nutrients as zucchini and would starve your plants. You can find out here which other plants are bad neighbors for zucchini!
Even if you don’t benefit from companion plants for the first year or two, learning the benefits of intercropping will prove extremely beneficial in the long run.
Which are the good neighbors for zucchini, you can find out here!
Nutrient deficiency in the soil is a wrong move
Growing Zucchini Mistakes to Avoid: Not understanding that these are hungry plants that need fertile soil and lots of nutrients to bear fruit throughout the growing season.
If home gardeners don’t understand this, they tend to plant zucchini plants in unprepared soil and then are disappointed with the meager harvest. You need to keep your soil stocked with nutrients and organic fertilizer! And don’t forget to add compost to your garden beds before planting zucchini as well.
Fertilize zucchini with natural means – when, how often and with what, you can find out here!
However, this is only the first step in getting your zucchini plants to grow properly. If you forget to feed your plants during the growing season, your harvest won’t be as impressive as it should be because the nutrients will disappear after the plants have initially sucked up everything from the compost.
You can feed zucchini plants in a number of ways. For one, you can place organic mulch around the plants, which will decompose and return nutrients to the soil. Another option is to use liquid fertilizer, which adds nutrients to the soil instantly, as opposed to granular fertilizer, which takes time for the nutrients to be released.
Growing zucchini – mistake is to put the plants too close together
Have you ever seen a fully grown zucchini plant? Few of them are small. These plants spread over the garden beds and take up all the space. So putting them too close together will lead to the next mistake when growing zucchini.
Zucchini, as already mentioned, are not only large plants, but also very hungry ones. Precisely because they’re so hungry, you’re making a mistake by growing them close together, because then they’ll suck each other’s nutrients. As a result, they will not achieve their normal growth.
The ideal planting distance for zucchini plants is at least 100 cm. Some varieties need more space, others less – it is important that you always follow the distances recommended on the packaging. Also, it’s best to harvest zucchini when they’re 4 to 6 inches tall.
NOT planting zucchini vertically can be wrong
Growing Zucchini Mistakes to Avoid: If you have a huge yard, a few zucchini plants spreading everywhere won’t matter, but if you only have a small backyard, that spread is a big problem. And here comes the next big mistake you can make. Namely, not taking the opportunity to grow zucchini vertically to save space.
Many home gardeners have no idea that zucchini plants can easily be grown vertically using proper supports and trellises. However, for those in the know, with the right support, grow zucchini even over arches to keep the vines from snapping fruit!
Trimming Zucchini Plants: Why and When to Cut Back the Leaves? Find out here!
Avoiding mistakes is wrong watering
Incorrect watering of your zucchini plants can do a lot of damage.
The first mistake you can make is not watering them enough. In this case, the plants will quickly wither, but as soon as they get water, they will soon recover.
The other mistake you can make is overwatering. Keep in mind that too much water pooling at the base of the plant can cause rot.
The third mistake you can make is using improper watering techniques, which can lead to diseases like powdery mildew. This fungal disease is common in zucchini. So make sure you water close to the base of the plants without splashing soil on the leaves.
Tipp: Add organic mulch around the base of zucchini plants to prevent soil splashes from getting onto the leaves.
Water zucchini properly – tips on how to water the plants properly without causing damage can be found here!