On hindsight, I should not have planted zucchini because it is cheap during summers. About SEK33 per kg which is about RM16. Instead, I should have planted bell peppers because they are expensive! SEK49.90 per kg which is about RM25. I am happy, regardless because it is my first time with a zucchini and it is so stressful ensuring sufficient pollination and sunlight. I did not realise that pollination can be a challenge when one stays in an apartment and bees are rare. Plus, zucchini flowers bloom in the mornings only and close by 4pm. Short time frame.
I sowed the seeds on 13 March and germination started pretty quickly, about a week later. And two weeks from sowing, the seedling grew to a considerable height. Even amazing is the seedling's head appeared out from the soil 7 hours later (see 2nd photo). Growing zucchini is very easy but pollination is a challenge if one lives in the city. On 31 March, I decided that the young plant should have its own huge pot (5 liter capacity) which is actually little. It is recommended to have a 10 liter capacity which I did not know prior to buying the pots.
On 7 April, proper leaves start to emerge and 2 weeks later, it has a pretty foliage. On 26 April, the first male flower bloomed. The male flowers appear first which does not serve much purpose until a female flower appears. This is when I realised that the flowers bloom in the morning and close in the evening and eventually dies. Look at the photos below to see a bloomed zucchini flower at 6.30am and closed by 4pm. Can you see the difference between a female and male flower? I learnt this in biology in school but I did not understand then. It involved a lot of memorising which I have now forgotten. Haha!
On 4 May, my first female flower appeared. The plants grow female flowers when the plant is ready to bear fruit. The fruit comes from the female flower. It took about 2 weeks for the female flower to reach its full bloom. I did not have any male flowers that bloomed at the same time as the female flower. So, I took a male flower that closed the day before to help with its pollination which did not assist because the male flower is already dead. I tried because I thought the pollen is still usable but it proved not when the fruit did not grow longer than 8cm. It was stuck at 7.5cm and the skin began to wrinkle. So, I cut off the fruit so that the nutrients can flow to other flowers. By the way, the fruit is supposed to grow 1cm everyday after pollination.
I got lucky when a female flower got pollinated by a bee. I did not see any bee then but I was very happy when the fruit became bigger than the first fruit. It grew up to 16cm and did not grow further than 16cm for 4 days. So, I harvested the fruit which you can see in the first photo. I read that a zucchini can be harvested once it is past 15cm. The zucchini looks weird because it was not thoroughly pollinated, according to Google. Apparently, pollination needs many bees. I probably had one bee. It is hard to find bees in town.
I AM HAPPY, regardless! I am on my way to becoming an urban farmer with a balcony garden. I learnt so much too!
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