Lunar calendar 2022: growing pumpkins and zucchini

When drawing up a planting schedule and a to-do list for the season, pay attention to the recommendations that the Lunar calendar for 2022 gives in this regard.

Despite the fact that pumpkins and zucchini are considered extremely unpretentious garden crops, many summer residents prefer to play it safe by checking their actions with the Lunar calendar. This is not surprising, because even such “unpretentious”, at first glance, vegetables still need proper care.

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Where did lunar seeding calendars come from, how do they work, and should you trust them? The answers to these and other questions are in our article.

When to sow zucchini and pumpkin seeds according to the Lunar calendar 2021

Zucchini and pumpkins can be grown either by seedlings or by seeds. In many ways, the choice will depend on the climatic conditions of the region and how well each specific variety tolerates cold weather.

Despite the fact that pumpkins and zucchini have successfully “taken root” in domestic gardens, they have not ceased to be heat-loving crops. The seeds of these melons germinate at a temperature of 12-15°C. At lower rates, the germination process may slow down or stop.

Approximate dates for sowing pumpkin and zucchini seeds:

Northern regions - early May (for seedlings), early June (in open ground).

The middle zone is the 1st-2nd ten days of April (for seedlings) and the end of May (for open ground).

Heat-loving varieties, such as butternut squash, are best grown from seedlings.

Favorable days for sowing zucchini and pumpkin seeds

March: 17-18, 22-23, 26
April: 8-9, 13-14, 18-19, 23-25

May: 5-7, 12, 15-17, 20-25

Secrets of growing zucchini seedlings
How to grow healthy and strong zucchini seedlings to get a rich harvest?
Growing pumpkin seedlings - step-by-step instructions for beginners
A tasty, very healthy and simply beautiful vegetable in your garden - easy! Learning to grow pumpkin seedlings at home.

Advice from gardeners

People in villages plant large plantations of different crops. No one particularly attaches importance to which end is the correct way to place the grain on the garden bed. It's not that important. They sow flat and get a good harvest. The main thing is to prepare high-quality seeds and know when to plant zucchini in open ground and for seedlings.

The Iskander variety does not like fertilizers containing chlorine. Farmers advise that in order to get a high yield of this variety, fertilize twice: when it begins to bloom and when the fruits appear. And also, when the zucchini blooms, the bushes need to be sprayed with a sugar solution with the addition of boric acid. Insects will like this and increase pollination.

Have a good harvest!

Elena Chursinova A practical gardener with twenty years of experience. I prefer organic farming and lazy gardening. ...

When to plant zucchini and pumpkin seedlings in the ground

Pumpkin and zucchini seedlings need plenty of light and warmth. Make sure that the temperature in the room where the containers with young plants are placed does not fall below 20°C during the day and 15°C at night.

Pumpkin seedlings are watered no more than 2 times a week, while zucchini may need additional watering, since this crop is very sensitive to soil drying out. It is recommended to fertilize simultaneously with watering.

Zucchini seedlings - 0.5 tsp. urea and superphosphate per 1 liter of water (seven days after germination) and 1 tsp. nitrophoska per 1 liter of water (a week after the first feeding).

Pumpkin seedlings - complex fertilizer, for example, Kemira Universal (50-60 g per 10 l) 10 days after germination, the next time the plants are fed before planting in open ground.

To prevent the plants from experiencing stress, begin hardening activities a week before the expected planting date. You can get more detailed information about this procedure from our article.

What should be the temperature for growing seedlings?
Why can’t cabbage and peppers be kept in the same room? Find out everything about the temperature for growing seedlings of your favorite plants.

When growing zucchini and pumpkins in seedlings, it is strictly not recommended to plant young plants in open ground until the average daily air temperature rises to 15°C and the soil warms up to at least 10°C.

Planting seedlings of vegetable and ornamental crops - favorable days in 2022
List of the most favorable days for planting seedlings in 2021.

Favorable days for planting seedlings of zucchini and pumpkin

May : 12-17, 20-24, 28-30
June : 2-3, 11-13, 16-22

How to plant zucchini seedlings

Above we looked at when to plant zucchini seedlings and in the ground, let's figure out how to do it correctly. Planting seeds is the most interesting and responsible process for every gardener. There is room for imagination to run wild and new discoveries to emerge. There are many ways, including without soil. The seeds are taken dry or sprouted, and the container is a plastic bag or paper cup, eggshells, diaper, even toilet paper.

If you sow in a container, you need to prepare a soil nutrient mixture: peat, humus, sand. Suitable for ready-made cucumbers from the store. Pour the mixture into shallow containers or cups, add water, sow the seeds to a depth of 0.5 cm, water, and feed with organic fertilizer twice.

The first feeding is carried out a week after the emergence of seedlings, the second - after 10 days.

Zucchini, pumpkin, watermelons and melons are sown with their nose down, since the root comes out of the sharp end. If you stick it the other way around, the plant will waste extra energy or even die.

How to grow zucchini seedlings in a snail

You need to cut a strip of polyethylene of arbitrary length and width, like toilet paper. Tear off several identical pieces of paper and place on top. Moisten with settled water and spread the seeds every 5 cm, slightly away from the edges.

Cover with paper again, sprinkle with water again to keep it moist (not wet!). The last layer is a strip of polyethylene.

Roll this “pie” into a snail roll. The snail should be lowered at one end into a suitable container, pour a little water, cover with film and transfer to a warm place. In a week, or even earlier, shoots will appear.

Now they need light, so the container must be moved under a lamp or on a windowsill. When two or three leaves are formed, the snail must be carefully unfolded and each sprout must be replanted separately.

If the weather permits, seedlings can be planted immediately in open ground.

In this way you can also grow seedlings of other vegetables and flowers: cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers, petunias.

Video: planting zucchini in a snail and picking them in a diaper

A series of useful and visual videos from Yulia Minyaeva.

Preparing the bed

We make the bed wide: 65 cm, or more, depending on the chosen variety. Dig with a bayonet shovel, level it, make depressions at a distance of 75 cm. Put 100 grams of the mixture and a teaspoon of mineral fertilizers in each hole.

Planting activities are best carried out in the morning, evening or cloudy times.

If there is only one bed and nothing grows nearby and does not block it from sunlight, the seeds can be sown closer to each other. The squash is sown a little closer.

When to water zucchini and pumpkin according to the Lunar calendar 2022

Even though both of these crops belong to the same family, their watering needs are different. For example, it is recommended to water zucchini no more than once every 10 days (10 liters of water per 1 sq.m of planting). Pumpkin should be watered every 2-3 days. It is important to remember that during flowering, watering is reduced. By mid-July, the frequency of watering should be reduced to once every 5 days.

Melon crops respond extremely negatively to irrigation with cold water. For these procedures, it is recommended to use exclusively warm and settled water.

Favorable days for watering pumpkins and zucchini

March: 2-4, 12-13, 17, 19-20, 22-23, 26-28, 30
April: 9, 14, 18-19, 23-24, 26-28

May: 7, 10-12, 15-17, 21, 24-25

June: 2-3, 6-8, 11-13, 16-22, 29-30

July: 4-5, 9-10, 13-19, 26-28, 31

August: 1, 5-6, 10-15, 23-24, 27-29

Planting dates for zucchini by variety

Zucchini is rightfully considered the most unpretentious of garden plants - in a well-prepared (loose, wet and fertilized until black) bed, they bear fruit, without requiring titanic efforts from the owner with a timely schedule of watering, weeding and hilling. The main thing is warm weather and space for growth. When planning planting time, you should consider the type of zucchini.

Early

One of the most popular early varieties is Iskander F1 - an early ripening and very productive hybrid. Despite the fact that Iskander, like all zucchini, is a bush plant, it does not have many intertwining branches, like other varieties, so it is just as convenient for a greenhouse as for growing from seeds in open ground. But the average germination rate of seeds with this method of planting is four seeds out of five, so you need to throw two or three pieces into the open ground at once, and later weed out weak plants. It can be grown in almost any climatic conditions; these zucchini will take root well in the Moscow region.

The Zebra variety is unpretentious, so nicknamed because of its characteristic color:

Prickly, but compactly growing, resistant to most common diseases of its species.
It is stored for a long time and can be easily transported.

It takes only one and a half to two months from the time of planting to harvest, so Zebra is ideal for growing in cool or dry areas.

Middle and late

In more fertile regions or in a greenhouse, mid- or late-ripening varieties can be cultivated, such as:

Gribovskie 37. White, heavy and very numerous fruits can be harvested one and a half to two months after planting.
Zolotinka - 40-47 days from the date of planting, it is an equally prolific and very beautiful variety, and even with heat treatment its dense pulp does not spread, and the relatively thin skin does not lose its cheerful yellow color.

Among the late-ripening ones (those that ripen within three months) it is worth noting:

Nut fruits, whose fruits grow to one and a half kilograms by the time they are technically ripe, and there are very few seeds in them - only bright red juicy pulp.
Tivoli F1, similar to a semicircular pumpkin - when steamed, its pulp itself breaks down into a tasty vegetable “vermicelli”.

When to feed zucchini and pumpkin according to the Lunar calendar 2021

Pumpkin . For the first feeding, you can use bird droppings (1 liter per 20 liters of water) or mullein (1 liter per 10 liters of water). For subsequent fertilizing, complex fertilizer or ash is suitable (1 cup per 10 liters of water). During the growing season, fertilizing is applied once every 14 days, and during the fruiting period - once every 10 days.

Zucchini . Before flowering, water it with a solution of mullein (1 l) and nitrophoska (15 g) - mix everything in 10 l of water. During flowering, the zucchini is fed with ash (1 cup per 10 liters of water), and during the fruiting period - with superphosphate, urea and potassium sulfate dissolved in 1 liter of water (1 tablespoon each).

Favorable days for feeding pumpkins and zucchini

March: 2-4, 7-8 (organic), 12-13 (in small doses), 21-22, 26-28, 30
April: 2-4, 8, 10-12 (dry), 16-19, 21, 23-24, 26-28

May : 1-2, 5-7, 9 (dry), 15-17, 20-21, 24-25, 28-29

June : 2-3, 4-5 (dry), 12-13, 16-22, 25-26, 29-30

July : 1-3 (dry), 4-5, 9-10, 13-19, 22, 26-28, 31

August: 1, 5-6, 10-15, 18-19, 23-29

Sowing zucchini seeds in 2022

Holes for sowing zucchini are made at a distance of 40-50 cm. Each of them is first spilled with water, after which 1-2 seeds are placed. A gap of 70 cm is left between the rows.

There is a slightly different planting method: 4-5 seeds are planted in a circle in a hole at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other. The holes are made with an interval of 1 m.

This method of growing zucchini is especially popular in regions with hot climates, since overgrown bushes cover the ground with a continuous carpet, which prevents moisture evaporation. The seeding depth is 3-4 cm. Each seed should be placed on its edge. When planting 2 seeds in one hole, the strongest plant is left in the future.

When to weed zucchini and pumpkin according to the Lunar calendar 2022

Timely weeding helps solve a number of problems. In particular, it is an effective prevention of diseases and pests. Zucchini and pumpkins often fall victim to a wide variety of rots, largely due to the fact that during the ripening process the fruits usually lie on the ground, i.e. as close as possible to the potential source of infection.

Despite the fact that the skin of pumpkins and zucchini seems quite hard, it can be accidentally damaged during the weeding process. To reduce the frequency of this procedure to a minimum, mulch the plantings.

Weeded weeds should never be left between the rows. And even more so, weeds that show signs of disease should not be left on the site or put into compost.

Favorable days for weeding pumpkins and zucchini

May: 1-4, 8-14, 18-21, 24-31
June: 1, 4-10, 14-17, 21-24, 26-28

July: 1-8, 11-15, 18-21, 24-30

August: 1-4, 7-11, 14-17, 20-22, 25-31

Transplanting seedlings

When replanting, it is important not to damage the delicate root system of the plant. Make a small hole in prepared, moistened soil. The plant along with the peat pot is carefully lowered into the hole. If a different container was used to grow seedlings, the root system is taken out with a large amount of soil and also placed in a hole.

The plant is placed deep, but the lower leaves should not be in the ground. The hole is deepened and lightly pressed with the palm of your hand, after which the seedlings need to be watered. Watering the plant, as well as moistening the soil before replanting, is done with warm water. Zucchini cannot be watered from above; water is added into the hole from below. Moisten carefully so as not to wash away the soil. If necessary, you can watch videos that show how to plant seedlings correctly.

Moon phases

New Moon . It is forbidden to touch any plants. All manipulations will lead to their death, formation and development of the disease. At this time, there is a blockage in the transfer of energy from the ground to the plantings. Growing . This time will have a beneficial effect on everything that grows above the surface of the earth. The bushes are saturated with nutrients and healthy juices that flow from the roots to the tips of the leaves. You can land, pick, and move into the ground. Full . The fruits can be collected and processed. It is not advisable to work with the soil. Decreasing . It is worth treating against harmful insects, diseases, planting root crops, and harvesting. Each type of work has its own phase of the moon.

Nuances of cultivation

Planting through seedlings is a labor-intensive process, because... It is difficult to transplant them, and they do not get used to a new place. Transplantation must be thought out in such a way as to move the seedling along with the lump of earth.

Features of sowing:

It is better to plant in peat cups, which will begin to decompose over time.
Seeds must be treated with boiling water or a special compound before planting.
It is better to sow in places where there is no direct sunlight and constant shade.

If desired, during the watering process, a growth stimulator can be added to the soil.

Sowing in boxes

Planting seedlings is the safest for this crop. The duration of cultivation depends on the variety. As a rule, such information is contained on the bag of seeds.

Advantages of growing in boxes:

bushes are not afraid of the influence of pathogenic microorganisms;
plantings are not affected by weather conditions;
vegetables ripen quickly.

When planting in beds, you should count the date from the time of the last frost in the region.

In the greenhouse

If a greenhouse is built on the site, then planting can be carried out directly in it.

For landing the following rules are taken into account:

Seedlings should be prepared by May - June.
The period of appearance of the first shoots after planting. It depends on the variety.
Viability of sprouts.
The period of adaptation when the sprouts are accustomed to external conditions.

Answers to frequently asked questions

When growing zucchini, the following questions may arise:

How to test seeds for germination?

You need to prepare a saline solution (50 g per 1 liter), and pour the planting material into it and leave it for 15-20 minutes. Those seeds that will sink to the bottom of the container will be viable.

Is it necessary to cover the planting with film?

Yes, especially in the central and northern regions. Even a slight cold snap can destroy young zucchini, and film cover will prevent this from happening.

Where is the best place to plant zucchini?

To grow vegetables, choose well-lit places on the south or southeast side, protected from wind and drafts. Lowlands and wetlands are not suitable.

It is advisable to choose places where tomatoes, peas, onions, garlic or cabbage used to grow. You cannot plant zucchini after pumpkin, cucumbers and squash. If the soil on the site is acidic, then you must first add dolomite flour, wood ash or fluff lime to it.

Common mistakes

Often, even with very good care, zucchini produce few shoots, and accordingly, the yield is worse. This is probably due to neglect of hilling. So, until 4 true leaves appear on the plants, it is recommended to constantly sprinkle them 5 cm at the root collar.

It is important to water zucchini strictly at the root, without flooding the leaves, flowers, fruits and soil under the shoots. Otherwise, dampness will develop and the fruits will be susceptible to rotting.

It is important to use a watering can for watering so as not to expose the root system. Well-hilled zucchini will produce the best harvest.

Tricks for planting zucchini in May

Place 1-3 seeds per hole, and when they sprout, leave only one of the healthiest zucchini. The second one is either simply picked up and thrown away, or carefully transplanted to a new location.
Usually, you don’t need to do any tricks to plant zucchini in May. However, if the weather has not become suitable for a long time, then you can speed up the germination of the seeds if you put them in a paper bag and leave them warm in the sun for a week immediately before planting in the garden. Even better, leave it in a paper bag on the radiator for a day.
But you can soak zucchini seeds only in a warm, stable climate. If there is a risk of return frosts, then sprouted seeds that have sprouted may be damaged by the night cold.
If you choose the path of seedling cultivation of the crop, then remember that it is zucchini with its delicate root system that is often not able to survive transplantation. Therefore, they are planted in advance in self-decomposing containers.
To “protect” young and still very weak shoots, cover them immediately after planting with nettles. The angrier the stems are, the greater the chance that snails and slugs will not covet the zucchini.

Transplantation to a permanent place

The vegetable requires special soil quality and a certain temperature level. To begin with, you should prepare the beds. It is important to take into account the rules of crop rotation.

Zucchini can be planted after:

cabbage;
tomato;
potatoes;
Luke;
parsley

Before planting, you should choose the right bed. It is chosen depending on the available space on the site

Soil preparation

The bed should be prepared in the southern part of the garden. It is better to select loamy soils with neutral acidity. Before planting, the beds must be prepared.

To prepare you need:

Dig up the soil and apply fertilizer.
If the soil acidity is high, it must be reduced by adding lime. If the composition contains a lot of alkali, then peat is added.
If groundwater passes close to the surface, then the soil must be drained.
The soil must be treated against harmful insects, this way you can protect the crop from the invasion of moles.

The bed is dug to a width of 0.7 m. The length is selected depending on the free space on the site and the desired number of bushes
. Having prepared the site, the seedlings are planted.