Extend the fruiting of squash until October (doing so for the second year)

Welcome growers! My name is Catherine and I am very fond of squash. Usually I plant more than I can eat: yellow, striped usual "squash".

Last summer, I found an interesting recommendation, how to extend the fruiting of squash until October. Dates are approximate for middle belt "missiles", as I call the fruits are gaining weight almost to the frost, until the weather will be quite unsuitable for ripening.

The essence of technology is as follows:

• Minimize the negative factors that now affect zucchini because of the transition of nature from summer sun to overcast autumn;
• We respond to the needs of the plants in the phase of fruiting;
• Throw all efforts to complete the aging of the ovaries.

And now I will describe what I do, step by step and in detail.

Slight rejuvenation of the bush zucchini

Sometimes the end of summer seems like a bush tavern no longer good for anything. It looks... to put it mildly, not very. Especially if the summer was very cold and rainy. But there is an option to fix the situation.

I read the advice to cut off the upper part of the shoot. But I simply pinch. If the pub already have a lot of promising ovaries or flowers, then I pinch out over them. Thus grower gives them every chance to mature as it should: the last month of its existence, the zucchini will expend energy on fruiting, and not to drive long shoots.

At the same time spend thinning. I remove all the old sheets, lying on the ground. Because of high humidity, night cooling and ventilation is poor marrow may rot. If dense bush, cut off 2-3 leaves from the center to the sun, the future meager in September, fully lit the growing ovary.

Dressing - it is important to

I do not use nitrogen fertilization, although there are suggestions. Manure nettle - all by.

In my opinion, we need to give the mineral elements are now aiming precisely at fruiting. That all went according to plan, we make phosphorus, potassium and calcium.

Not to use chemicals that can make zucchini toxic I use natural remedies. For example, if we now make "NPK", the harvest will be safe only after 3 weeks (manual recommendations). A zucchini something ripen constantly!

So I'm doing wood ash solution (potassium, calcium, magnesium) and sprinkled flower bed under irrigation bone meal (there is phosphorus). Additionally sprinkle zucchini solution of boric acid powder. Because boron helps a lot ovaries.

We encourage the emergence of new ovaries

In the second half of August and in early September, the problem starts with the formation of ovaries. But at acceptable weather conditions they could become full-fledged zucchini! But sometimes it does not happen because of two main reasons:

• due to high humidity pollen turns into lumps and can not perform its function;
• by the end of the summer in the garden has become less insect pollinators.

On my giving rise not self-zucchini varieties, so I transfer pollen from the male flower to the female brush. To distinguish them easily (photo above).

To cold nights did not sentence

The August night already make zucchini feel uncomfortable. Thermometer falls lower and lower, and in the morning in the garden can be seen cold dew. The latter is able to destroy the ovary promising, prompting them to rot.

Therefore, in September I close zucchini overnight spunbond. Before the film he has a big advantage - it gives plants the ability to "breathe."

Using this method, in fact, I gathered the last pub somewhere on 28-30 September. I liked the idea? Please put back "Thumbs up!" Thank you and good harvests 🍆