Growing Courgettes | Food

Date Published:: 15/10/2007

Courgettes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow and will rarely disappoint.

Give them decent soil and plenty of water, and each plant will produce up to 20 fruits (they're small, summer squashes - baby marrows in fact).

There are plenty of these prolific performers to choose from, and not all of them green and straight. You could try a yellow, white or striped variety, or even an attractive ball-shaped courgette.

The plants themselves come in two types. The majority grow as relatively compact bushes, whereas a select few climbing or trailing varieties, such as Tromboncino and Black Forest, can be trained up supports or over archways.

You'll need to be vigilant once the young fruits start to develop, as they can grow to harvest size within a couple of days.

Pick them regularly and they'll crop for most of the season. The flowers can also be stuffed as an attractive gourmet treat.

What you will need

A packet of courgette seeds
Seed compost
8cm (3in) pots
Well-rotted manure or compost
Liquid fertiliser, such as tomato feed
Plenty of water!

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Comments

Hi, I too am growing courgettes for the first time this year. The plants are a good size and are growing lots of flowers but all seem to be male as they have no fruit behind them and just fall off once they have opened. Any advice gratefully accepted.

Posted by Katie Shakeshaft on 30/06/2009 13:38:09

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Hi - I am growing courgettes for the first time this year and they are now flowering profusely but the flowers just seem to fall off - what am I doing wrong or is this normal

Posted by janet flett on 28/06/2009 14:34:49

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Should i cut back courgette plants, stems or leafs?. If so at what length? THANKS

Posted by mel on 05/06/2009 14:38:15

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There shouldn't be a problem with growing cucumbers and courgettes in the same bed - although leave plenty of space between plants as they need lots of room and rotate the bed with different plants next summer. We've grown courgettes, cucumbers and marrows side by side now for several years and have had a great crop! Good luck!

Posted by 4Food Editor on 27/05/2009 11:55:57

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Hi ya, is it ok to grow cucumbers and courgettes in the same bed ? My neighbour says that I will have a bad crop if I do, as the cucumbers affect the courgettes in some way ?? Thanks

Posted by Anne Boret on 26/05/2009 10:24:49

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Growing Guides How to grow courgettes

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What you will need

More Jamie At Home How-tos

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