Cooked, sautéed, stuffed, ratatouille...
At home, we love eat good zucchini from the garden!
Zucchini plants are easy to succeed, even for beginners...
It is also one of the most prolific plants in the vegetable garden.
In fact, 2 courgettes are enough to feed the whole family.
In addition, you can even eat the flowers of the zucchini, which can also be eaten fried, stuffed or in fritters. Yum!
Here are the 10 market gardening tips to have beautiful zucchini :
Click here to easily print this guide in PDF.
1. Sow or plant your zucchini in a place with warm and sunny exposure (at least 10 hours a day).
2. Plant the seedlings with a spacing of 1 m between each foot, to promote air circulation.
3. In small vegetable gardens, climb zucchini using a stake.
4. In summer, put a good dose of fertilizer once a month to ensure good production.
5. Put a thick layer of mulch around the plants as soon as they are well established, which helps the soil retain moisture.
6. Always keep the soil moist. Be sure to always water from below without wetting the leaves, to avoid diseases such as powdery mildew.
7. The ideal soil pH is between 6.0 and 7.0.
8. Pale, brownish spots on the leaves indicate an attack by squash bugs. Squash borer (Melittia cucurbitae ) causes sudden wilting of zucchini.
9. Pick the fruits when they are still young and small (about 3 to 4 cm in diameter or 10 to 12 cm in length).
10. Use a sharp knife or secateurs to cut the zucchini at the stalk, which prevents the stems from breaking.
Zucchini dreads powdery mildew, also called "white disease". This disease leaves whitish, floury spots on the leaves, which turn brown and eventually fall off.
- To prevent its appearance, do not wet the foliage. Also make sure there is enough space between the plants. This will allow the leaves to dry by airing them out and exposing them to sunlight. To prevent powdery mildew from spreading, remove and burn all affected leaves.
- To treat courgettes severely attacked by powdery mildew, there is an old grandmother's remedy:cow's milk. Dilute 10 cl of milk in a liter of water and spray this mixture on the stems and the tops of the leaves. Repeat this treatment every 15 days and after the rains.
- Due to its basic pH, bicarbonate is an effective treatment to prevent the appearance of powdery mildew. Mix 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 1 liter of water and spray this mixture on the leaves of your zucchini.
After harvest, zucchini can be stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
Here are our best ideas for easy and inexpensive recipes to enjoy your delicious zucchini:
- zucchini, onion &goat cheese quiche
- prawns in lemon butter with zucchini spaghetti
- zucchini pasta at 0.35 € per person
Have you tried these gardening hacks to grow zucchini in your garden? Let us know in the comments if it worked. We can't wait to read you!
