10:53 - 07 April 2011
Don’t confuse courgettes with those mushy vegetables you were fed at school. Young, tender fruits of these delicious vegetables can be eaten raw, grated into Rosti, baked and stuffed, fried in herbs, added to Ratatouille and chutneys and even the flowers are edible. They really are a great plant to grow and can also be grown in pots, grow bags and planters.
Courgettes are one of the easiest and prolific vegetables to grow in your garden. If you have a greenhouse you can get a real head start growing this versatile crop.
The first thing you need is the right kind of seed. Ideally buy some fresh seed mail order from a reputable seed supplier or from the garden centre. There are many different sorts of courgettes, you can choose to grow deep green ones, and stripy ones, yellow ones and even some that are round or space ship shaped. If you are growing in pots or a confined space then look out for the compact bushy varieties that don’t spread over the ground, these are widely available.
Once you have chosen some seed, the first thing you need to understand is that these plants are tender, this means they will be killed by frost and freezing temperatures. With a greenhouse you can provide the vital early protection until it is safe to plant your plants outside. By sowing your courgette seeds from mid March onwards you can pretty much ensure that by the time they are large enough to plant outside all danger of frost has passed.
First sow the seeds
Three or four plants will provide most families with masses of courgettes for the summer. If you have a large garden or allotment or simply love eating courgettes or giving them away then grow more. It’s a good idea to sow them in stages, i.e. fortnightly, so that you can stagger their productivity. It’s always great to have an early crop but sow a few seeds in late May or June so you get a late crop too.
Fill a few small, clean flowerpots with clean, fresh seed sowing compost or a quality multi-purpose compost. Make a hole in the centre of each pot with a dibber about 2cm deep and push one courgette seed on its side (i.e. the narrow side uppermost) into each hole. If you sow the seed flat it is more likely to rot. Cover over with fresh seed compost and water gently with tepid tap water. Place the pots onto capillary matting in a watertight tray and cover over with a propagating lid. Keep them in a light, frost free, warm environment to germinate. Do not over water. The seeds will germinate in about 4-7 days, or longer if it is cold. As soon as they are up remove the propagator lid and keep the compost gently moist but not wet.
Then Grow Them On
As your plants are in individual pots there is no need to thin them out or prick them out, but you do need to monitor their growth. If the weather is conducive they will grow quickly and make new leaves. As soon as the roots fill the pots it’s a good idea to pot them on because if they become pot bound this will check their growth. All you need to do is to choose a slightly larger pot, add a few centimetres of fresh compost into the bottom of the new pot. Carefully tip out your developing plant. Drop the root ball into the new pot and fill in around the roots with fresh potting compost. Water well with slightly tepid tap water. Courgettes are quite thirsty so make sure you supply plenty of water in warm weather when the compost is drying out and also start to feed them once they have been potted on. A good fertiliser for flowering and fruiting plants is ideal.
Now Plant Them Out
As soon as the last frost has passed, usually mid to late May in the UK you can harden off your plants by placing them inside a cold frame for a week or so before planting them out in the garden.
