Courgettes - lots of them

Is there any more easy and prolific vegetable to grow than the courgette?

Providing you can keep them warm, they readily grow from seed, sown on its side, 1.5cm (½in) deep, in compost in a 7.5cm (3in) pot, from April onwards. Once all danger of frost is past, they can be hardened off then planted out. Alternatively, from mid May, 2 or 3 seeds can be sown together, again on their sides, direct into the soil 2.5cm (1in) deep and covered with a cloche. If more than one germinates, remove the weaker leaving the strongest to grow on.  Of course, you can always buy young plants from the garden centre, again planting out only after the frosts.

Courgettes like rich soil, so they enjoy our Wealden clay particularly if it is lightened with organic matter. They need plenty of water - I use a cut off plastic bottle stuck in the ground beside them to get water directly to the roots, rather than watering the leaves and stems which can lead to rotting. They need a spot in the sun and they need space: allow 3 feet for each plant at least. 

Once they get going, growth is rapid and before long you will be inundated with fruit. The ideal is to pick the fruit while it is still small, young and tasty, 10–12.5cm (4–5in) long. However, I’m sure that some will get away and start to turn into marrows; it’s important to remove these, as they will stop more fruit from forming.

You might think all courgettes look more or less the same, somewhat like a small cucumber, but there are yellow ones eg. ‘Soleil’ and round ones eg. ‘Satellite’. There is even a climbing one that can grow up to a metre long, ‘Tromboncino’, which if picked while young and small can be eaten like a courgette, but if left to grow to full size can be stored and used as a winter squash. My favourite variety is ‘Romanesco’ which is firm, has a good flavour and has ribs running the length of the fruit. Even courgette flowers can be eaten, dipped in batter and deep fried.

Courgettes are fairly trouble free to grow. The young main stem can be vulnerable to slug attack until it has toughened up, and at the end of the season the leaves can succumb to powdery mildew. It is said that spraying the leaves with milk will stop powdery mildew but, in my experience, by that time in the year you will have probably eaten so many courgettes that you will be ready to put the plant on the compost heap without too many regrets.