Cucurbita pepo
Courgette
Common names: Zucchini, Summer squash
Photo: Rudolphous · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
Description
The courgette is the most generous plant in the summer garden: a single plant supplies a whole family and delivers tender fruits continuously from high summer until frost. Harvest it young at about 15 to 20 cm; look away for a few days and you quickly find a giant club.
Care instructions
Raise it from April indoors or sow it after the ice saints (mid-May, week 20) directly into the bed in a sunny, nutrient-rich spot, ideally on the compost heap. Water generously and always at the root, never over the leaves, to prevent mildew. Harvest regularly, because every fruit left standing slows the supply of new ones.
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, loamy, well-drained, nutrient-rich
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Months
Apr–Aug
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
Companion planting
Good neighbors
legume family (Fabaceae)
Beans and peas enrich the soil with nitrogen, which cucurbits, as heavy feeders, can make good use of.
For example PeaBroad beanMarker peaLima beanchickpeaRed Clover and 26 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
Rather not
nightshade family (Solanaceae)
You should avoid planting potato and cucumber together because they share disease pathogens such as leaf and brown rot and stand in each other's way as strong feeders.
For example TomatoSweet pepperCocktail tomatoEggplantCape gooseberryChili and 8 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop-rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
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Varieties
5 varieties‘Black Beauty’
The dark green classic *‚Black Beauty’* has been the benchmark for almost a hundred years.
‘Diamant F1’
A modern, highly resilient hybrid for those who want to harvest for long periods even in wet summers.
‘Gold Rush F1’
The bright golden zucchini *‚Gold Rush F1’* brings color to the garden and to the plate.
‘Striato d'Italia’
An old Italian variety with strongly ribbed fruits in light and dark green that show a pretty star shape in cross section.
‘Tondo di Nizza’
A round courgette from the area around Nice, best harvested at apple size, 8 to 10 cm across.
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From the magazine
Zucchini: from choosing a variety to the harvest
Zucchini are one of the most rewarding vegetables you can grow, and a handful of plants will feed a whole family. From choosing a variety through starting seeds and planting out to the daily harvest at the height of summer: the whole journey, explained without rushing.
Feeding Heavy Feeders: How to Fertilise Fruiting Vegetables Right
Tomato, pepper, courgette and squash are the hungriest residents of the bed. How to feed them potassium instead of nitrogen and read leaf colour as your gauge.