Expect generous harvests from these productive plants – your kitchen will soon be overflowing with courgettes!
Courgettes are known for producing bumper harvests throughout the summer months. They’re a hassle-free crop to grow and once established they grow at real speed. Given their capacity for growth, you’ll need a healthy appetite to tuck into them fresh from the plant, but if you’re finding the glut is coming too thick and fast, try freezing some for use throughout winter.
Starting in pots in late spring is a good way of controlling growing conditions and protecting young plants from the elements.
Push two seeds on their sides 2-3cm deep into a 9cm pot filled with good-quality compost. Water the soil well. Then irrigate regularly once the soil feels dry and seedlings should appear within two weeks.
The weaker of the two seedlings in each pot will need to be removed. It can be identified by stunted growth, smaller leaves and a thinner stem. Doing this will allow the stronger specimen space to develop further.
When the plants have five or six leaves it’s time to transplant your courgettes to the veg bed. Choose a sunny spot with fertile, well-drained soil and keep a spacing of 90cm between each pants. Water the soil thoroughly to reduce the risk of stress to the roots caused by moving them from containers to outside.
Your courgettes will soon develop huge, yellow flowers. Water regularly as these plants will be very thirsty, especially during the hot summer days.
Feed every two weeks with a high-potash fertiliser, too for an extra boost.
Once the fruits have developed and grown to at least 10cm in length it’s time to start
