How to Start Zucchini Plants
Step 1
Fill a 3-inch diameter peat pot with potting soil. Use a sterile potting soil or one that is sold for seed-starting purposes.
Step 2
Plant two zucchini seeds in each pot, planting them ½-inch deep. Water the soil until it is evenly moist throughout.
Step 3
Cover the pots with a plastic bag, which retains the moisture in the soil during germination. Place the pots in a warm room, around 21.11 degrees C, to germinate.
Step 4
Remove the plastic bags once the seedlings sprout. Pluck out the smaller, weaker seedling if both seeds germinate, leaving only one plant in each pot.
Step 5
Place the zucchini in a sunny window. Water the soil as needed to keep it moist but not soggy. Don’t let much water touch the leafs or leas will grow mold on them.
When to plant seeds!
Plant seed or transplant outside after the absolute last chance of frost has passed. Sow 5-6 seeds in hills in well-drained fertile soil and full sun
If you wish to start plants indoors, start them 3-4 weeks before last frost using peat pots.
Water/Soil/Sunlight
How much water? Medium amount of water. To water zucchinis the best way to water them is to put a gardening pot beside the plant and make sure that the bottom of the pot is at the same depth as the roots and every couple times a week fill it with water. The water will slowly seep through to the roots so it grows the best. Its best to use a rain barrel because there won’t be as much chlorine in it. If you don’t use the pot, water them 1-2 times a day. (morning and evening)
If you water the plant over top of it the leafs will go moldy and the plant will die. You would want to grow them in the soil that has the lowest acidic level. Plant in a location that enjoys full sun and remember to water moderately. Zone 3 to 12 are typically the USDA Hardiness Zones that are appropriate for this plant (although this can vary based on your microclimate). A soil ph of between 5.6 and 7.5 is ideal for Zucchini as it does best in weakly acidic soil - weakly alkaline soil. Acidic soil- Below 7 pH is acidic, above 7 pH is non-acidic. Rich soil- use compost and mix into soil
Research Questions
Do we want to experiment with amounts of water or soil? Or neither? Neither Should we plant different types of Zucchini? - Plant only one kind this year to see how they do. Fastest growing rate in order to harvest them before school ends. Rich, low acidic soil.
Pest and health- Keep zucchini by spinach and flat leaf parsley. They keep the bugs away from zucchini.
Container - Large container to let plant grow big and to keep it producing vegetables, because bigger the plant more the zucchinis.
Nutrients- The best fertilizer for zucchinis would should be water soluble which means that you would mix it with water. It is best not to let fertilizer granules touch the plant leaves as it could burn them. A 10-10-10 fertilizer would likely work the best. The three numbers indicate how much Nitrogen, Phosphoric Acid and Potash the fertilizer contains. Nitrogen encourages strong shoots and leaves and is essential in the green coloring (chlorophyll). Phosphoric Acid helps with flowering and production of fruit or vegetable and seeds. Potash helps to strengthen plant and helps it to resist disease. A fish fertilizer is always good but you may have to fend off animals that love the smell and will go digging around your plant looking for the fish. If you have good, rich soil especially if compost has been added you might not need any fertilizer.
Resources
Websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_pH
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