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Back to basics -
Courgettes

Quick and easy to grow, courgettes have a reputation for producing prolific picking. Follow our back to basics guide for your best ever results.

While their pumped-up cousin the marrow is a familiar staple, courgettes are a relative newcomer to the UK veg scene. Perhaps it’s thanks to all those Mediterranean holidays and the fact that courgettes are easy to grow, prepare and cook that has made them as popular as they are today.

Growing in any well-drained soil in a sunny site, courgettes are also an ideal candidate for growing in pots and small beds – there is even a ‘climbing’ one that can be grown up a small obelisk or trellis
(see varieties).

Propagation

Since plants are tender and fast-growing, seed sowing needs to be timed so that plants are established and hardened off ready for planting after the last frosts. Sowing to planting takes about six weeks, so time your first batch to coincide with the date of the expected last frost in your area.
The large seeds are easy to handle and should be sown singly into 7.5cm (3in) pots or large cells filled with fresh, well-drained seed compost. Sow 1cm (1⁄2in) deep. Advice is often given to sow these and other squash seeds on their sides to help drain water from the developing seedling, but this is of no great benefit.
Cover, label and water well before placing your seeds in a heated propagator to provide a minimum of 20-25C (68-77F). Cover with a propagator lid to maintain humidity and your seeds should germinate rapidly – often within five to seven days.

Seedlings develop quickly and the cover should be removed as soon as the seedlings emerge to prevent stretching. Once the seed leaves have opened and the first true leaf starts to develop, the young plants can be moved to the greenhouse bench or a sunny window sill to grow on. Give them as much light as possible to prevent stretching and reduce the temperature slowly to acclimatise them – down to about 10-13C (50-55C).

It is also possible to sow your courgettes direct outside in the open soil; however, this is best not attempted until the middle to end of May in most areas. Prepare the soil well (see below) and sow two or three seeds at each station on a mound as for planting. Cover with a bell cloche or jam jar to keep the seedlings as warm as possible and be prepared to add a few layers of fleece at night if a cold snap is predicted.

Growing on

Plants establish quickly and the roots will soon start to fill the container. Once they do and if the temperature outside is still too cold to allow planting to safely go ahead, feed with a liquid fertiliser at weekly intervals using a half strength mixture. A balanced or high potash feed is best to keep plants stocky and to harden them up prior to moving outside. If they become a little pale, the leaves can be sprayed with the same mixture as a foliar feed providing they are not in direct sunshine.

Maintain watering to prevent plants from wilting and ventilate the greenhouse on warm days. Once the weather warms sufficiently, plants can be moved outside or into a cold frame during the day to harden them off, bringing them in at night or closing the frame to avoid chilling.

Soil preparation and planting

Like other squashes, courgettes require a well-drained soil and a sunny, sheltered site to thrive. Dig in plenty of well-rotted organic matter in the autumn and add some more to the planting hole and backfill prior to planting. Also in common with cucumbers and squashes, courgettes are rather prone to root and stem rots and planting on a mound can help prevent this. Add more organic matter to the area where you intend to plant and dig it in. Rake up the soil a little to produce a low mound; your courgette can be planted into the top of this so that water naturally drains away from the stem. Take care not to plant too deeply – the crown of the plant should be proud of the soil, again to prevent rotting.
After planting scatter 28-56g (1-2oz) per sq m/yd of Growmore or pelleted chicken manure over the soil, keeping it away from the stem itself, and rake in gently with a rake or your fingers.
If the weather is still a little chilly after planting, cover the plants with fleece or a bell cloche until they establish.

top tips

Occasionally plants suffer from wind rock and may benefit from staking to prevent wind damage. A low windbreak of netting placed around young plants on exposed sites after planting can help to protect the leaves in the early stages and get plants off to a quicker start.

Keep weeds at bay throughout the life of the crop, although once well established, the large leaves do smother weeds quite effectively.

Given suitable conditions, plants are usually so prolific that just three or four are more than enough for a family of four, so bear this in mind when sowing and planting.

For more see this month's issue, available to buy online!

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