2026
Sowed zucchini from last years selections
- Seed: Last year’s selections. I separated seed from each fruit into a bag of their own and sowed them on each their own row. Mostly out of curiosity and because I think the students will learn something from seeing family selection.
- Area: 8 rows of about 40 meters with 1 meter spacing between rows, so about 350 m2. Densely sown.
- Sowing time: 17th of June, about a week later than last year. Just lower down on the priority list. I think they would have germinated well even if I sowed them a month earlier.
- Soil: Spring harrowed sandy-stony clay soil (was grass meadow before)
- Irrigation: None
- Fertilizer: None
Plants germinated one week later. With the rising temperatures, they grew very fast. The weeds were quite advanced. We did a selective weeding. You can see two rows look like they have been overtaken by goosefoot, but there are plants down there somewhere.
My goal is to let the plants fend for themselves this July and then come back in August and cull plants so only the best will make it to the end.
This year I’d like to start selecting for taste. Not sure how to do it, but will need some kind of marking system so I can bring fresh fruit to the school and know which plant it came from.