Content
- Early zucchini harvest by sowing in the cold frame
- Prepare the cold frame
- The sowing
- The care in the cold frame
- Does the zucchini stay in the cold frame or is it better planted out?
- Tips & Tricks
Early zucchini harvest by sowing in the cold frame
Two factors are important for good zucchini growth - heat and sun. Both can be used even better, the zucchini is sown in the cold frame. A positive side effect is the earlier zucchini harvest.
Prepare the cold frame
If the cold frame is set up in a sunny spot, the soil must be well insulated. For this you bring out manure on a leaf layer and cover the whole thing with leaves and about 20 cm of soil. This creates a fermentation process that heats the soil in the cold frame.
The sowing
The zucchini seed can begin at the beginning of April. Per planting hole you put 3 - 4 seeds about 3 cm deep and cover them with soil. Do not forget to cast. After about a week, the first seedlings will show up.
If several seeds have risen in one place, the plants must be pikiert. To do this, you pull the weaker out of the ground, so that only the strongest plant stops per spot.
The care in the cold frame
If the sun shines through the glass or the foil of the cold frame, it is heated much like a greenhouse. At the same time the covers act as a windbreak. To ensure that the cold frame is well ventilated, you should open the lid regularly.
Further care measures are:
Does the zucchini stay in the cold frame or is it better planted out?
If you do not need the cold frame for the cultivation of other plants, you can leave your zucchini plant. It is important that the plants can spread well even in the cold frame. After all, they have a space requirement of one to two square meters per plant.
If you can not continue using the cold frame, the young plants will be planted in a sunny spot in the vegetable or flowerbed. Time for planting is from mid-May. With garden fleece or hat you protect the plants from possible night frosts.
Tips & Tricks
You can build a cold frame yourself from a bevelled wooden structure and transparent foil. What is important is a transparent lid that lets in sunlight and provides fresh air to open.