Courgettes are an easy crop to grow and well cared for will produce an excellent crop of tasty veg. Global warming in the UK, has made this crop even more successful and can be grown out of the greenhouse, even in the north of England.

Tips for Growing Courgettes

• Sow from late March to May in pots to make easy planting out later. Make sure soil is well manured and fertilised, the plant is a heavy feed.
• Early courgette plants should be grown in a warm greenhouse to protect against any frost and cold temperatures. They do well in full sun.
• Courgettes do better in warmer climates, heat will give a bigger and faster crop.
• Protect from slugs in the early stages of growth. But, once established they are fairly pest resistant.
• Crop regularly when courgettes are 4-6 inches. Cropping encourages more vegetables to be made and stops them turning in to marrows.
• When growing in the greenhouse be ruthless in removing any fungal leaves or fungal vegetables. This fungal disease can easily spread if not kept in check.
• If you grown courgettes in the greenhouse you may find the leaves can become too big. If this is the case, you can remove some of the bigger leaves without much loss. It is important to ensure good airflow.
• When vegetables are forming it is important to keep well watered and well fed. A proprietary tomato feed is an excellent food for the cropping vegetable.

Courgettes, gourds and marrows

Varieties to Try

• All Green Bush is widely available and a good general purpose plant.
• Early Gem is an F1 hybrid with slim dark green fruit.
• Gold Rush has the trendy yellow skin and firm flesh
• Tromoncino d’Albenga is a climbing or trailing plant.
• For round fruit try Tondo Chiaro di Nizza.

 
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