Courgette
Also called Zucchini, Baby marrow, Summer squash.
| Light | full sun |
|---|---|
| Water | Every 2 days in the growing season, every 10 in winter |
| Humidity | medium |
| Difficulty | easy |
| Height | Up to 60 cm (24 in) tall |
| Pets | Cats not known, dogs not known |
Pet safety not established for this species.
Edible here means commonly eaten. Nothing on this site is medical or dietary advice.
One courgette plant feeds a household and two feed a street, which is the joke every gardener eventually lives. They are easy in the way that hungry things are easy: give them a barrowload of compost, full sun and more water than feels sensible, and they crop for two months. Sow them in warm soil, one or two seeds to a station, and thin to the strongest. Pick the fruit small, at fifteen centimetres, and pick every other day, because a marrow left on the plant tells it to stop. Powdery mildew on the old leaves in late summer is normal and not worth fighting. In the southern hemisphere the spring sowing is the main one, with a second in early summer for an autumn crop.
Ailments observed
| White powder on the leaves | Powdery mildew on the older leaves, which is inevitable by late season. Water the roots deeply, remove the worst leaves, and accept it. A plant usually crops well for weeks after mildew appears. |
|---|---|
| Brown soft patches on the leaves | Fruit rotting at the flower end, from poor pollination or wet weather. Pick the affected fruit off, and hand pollinate with a male flower on a cool wet morning if bees are scarce. |
Filed underPlants that forgive a beginner
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