You can harvest zucchini from your own garden until autumn if you care for the plant properly. However, sometimes the plant is attacked by diseases or pests and you have to act quickly to save the crop. There are also some care measures that can ensure healthy plants and increase yields. One of these measures is pruning. Here's why and how you should prune the zucchini plant to harvest fresh zucchini from the garden all summer long.
First of all, why prune these huge plants at all? Unlike pumpkins, zucchini appear to grow in a more closed bush. Although most varieties don't need much work, there is always room for improvement!
Here are 6 reasons why you should prune your zucchini plants:
Stimulate growth
TheCutting off unhealthy leavesencourages the plant to put more energy into the remaining foliage and fruit.
Pruning the tips at the correct growth stage can stimulate new growth. Weekly top trimming can also make the plant more compact, which is ideal for small spaces, while occasional top trimming will result in stronger overall growth of the plant.
Ensure better air circulation to prevent mildew
Powdery mildew is the most common disease of zucchini, and adequate watering and pruning at the right time are the most effective methods to control it.
Mildew loves a warm, moist environment. Cutting off the lowest leaves allows more air to flow through the plant, which helps keep mildew under control.
Easier to inspect the zucchini plant for pests and diseases
Pruning, especially at height, makes searching and locating pests much easier. By removing some of the foliage, you can monitor your plants for signs of disease, rot, or infestation before they get out of control.
Easier access to the fruits
Cutting back zucchini allows you to...ripening fruitsto keep an eye on, and also makes harvesting and weeding easier.
Sometimes production can increase so much that it's easy to forget about the zucchini on the plant. But you'll soon find that they can almost double in size overnight, which affects the taste. That's why it's important to harvest the fruits of the right size.
Prevent blossom end rot
Blossom end rot can be caused either by a calcium deficiency or bylack of pollinationbe caused. The calcium deficiency can be remedied by burying some lime or baked eggshells before planting or adding them later around the base of each plant.
The lack of pollination can be solved by manual pollination within the first day after the female flower opens. However, if you missed this incredibly short window of opportunity for pollination, you can cut off the rotting flowers to focus the plant's energy on the pollinated flowers.
Attack on other plants
Another reason to prune your zucchini plant is to prevent encroachment and competition for light with the rest of your vegetable patch, especially if they are growing in a small space. Your zucchini will be stimulated, and the surrounding plants will thank you by increasing their production.
Check whether the zucchini leaves shade or completely cover the other vegetable plants in the bed and remove these leaves.
Cutting zucchini: the most important thing in brief
Pruning the zucchini plant provides better air circulation, stimulates growth, and allows the gardener to thoroughly inspect the upcoming crop for signs of pests and diseases. In small gardens where maximum yields are sought, zucchini pruning can be particularly useful for keeping these rampant plants under control.
When and how to cut off the zucchini leaves: instructions
To prune zucchini, all you need is pruning shears and 70% alcohol or disinfectant to disinfect them.
Zucchini care: When should you cut off the lower leaves?
During the first stages of growth, you should keep an eye on the lower leaves. If a bottom leaf touches the ground, cut it off.
Once the plant has developed several flowers or even a few fruits, you can remove any leaves that are below the lowest flower or fruit.
The fruits receive their nutrition primarily from the leaves that grow above them, so the lower leaves are redundant. If you see diseased or eaten leaves, you should of course cut them off too.
During the lower cut, the unwanted lower leaves and their stems are removed from the main trunk. By removing the entire leaf and stem, the likelihood of fungus or disease developing in the remaining hollow stems is significantly reduced.
Be careful not to damage the main stem, fruit, flowers, or leaf nodes above the first fruit or flower.
How do you cut off the shoot tips of the zucchini plant?
This should only be done on the bright green, fresh, new shoots at the top of the plant. As long as the top is actively growing, you can prune it.
The easiest way is to pinch off the tips with your thumbnail. You should only cut off the growth above the last two leaves at the top of the actively growing plant. Be careful not to damage the leaf nodes along the stem, where two new leaves will eventually grow.
How many sheets can be removed?
As with pruning most plants, you should not remove more than 30% of the zucchini plant's foliage. So if you allPlant leavesbelow the lowest fruit and remove all diseased leaves, this corresponds to around 20 to 30%. The zucchini fruits themselves benefit from some shade in hot, sunny climates, so you should not remove the leaves that shade them.
These planting partnersare ideal for zucchini.
