Courgettes were not widely eaten in Europe before the twentieth century and some sources claim that they were developed from the squash, first brought to Europe from the Americas during Christopher Columbus' crusades. Squash have been cultivated in Central America for more than five thousand years and courgettes play a prominent role in Mexican cuisine today.
As with the aubergine, the courgette was brought to the attention of Britons in the mid-twentieth century thanks to the writings of Elizabeth David.
Sow the seed outside without protection around the date of the last frost, early May is about right in . If you are sowing with cloche protection or starting seeds off indoors, sow about three weeks earlier.
It is a good idea to place cloches in position a month earlier so that they warm up the soil. This greatly increases your chances of success when using cloches.
Although courgettes (zucchini) like lots of moisture at the roots, they will rot if there is too much moisture around the base of the plant. This is why the seeds are sown or small plants are planted as described below.
At the time of planting / sowing, dig out the top soil to one spade's depth in an area of 45cm (1ft 6in) square. Fill about one third of the hole with well-rotted garden compost. If none is available grass cuttings will be fine. Then put back all or most of the top soil in the hole. You should end up with the soil over the hole in a slightly raised mound. Each planting / sowing position should be 1m (3ft) from the others.
If sowing outside, place the two seeds in each planting position covered with 1.5cm (½in) of soil. If transplanting small plants, then they should be to the same depth as they are in the pot.
To make watering easier, inset a small pot into the ground (open end upwards) near the plant or seeds. This will allow you to pour water into the pot and it will go directly to the roots.
Courgettes and zucchini come in a huge range of colours and shapes. From yellow to black, some striped, some club shaped. So recommendations of specific varieties is more a matter of personal taste.
Almost all of them are easy to grow so you are unlikely to be disappointed whichever variety you choose.
With all the sowing / planting of your courgettes completed their care needs are very simple. Keep them well-watered and fed. They grow so quickly that watering will be essential when the weather is warm and dry.
Feeding is best done with a liquid feed about once every two weeks. Regular weeding will prevent competition for food and water.
A layer of grass-cuttings or well-rotted compost on the soil around (but definitely not touching) your plants will conserve moisture and help prevent weeds.
Pollination Pollination is not normally a problem for courgettes.
However in windy weather it may be necessary to hand pollinate, this will also be necessary if growing in a greenhouse or under cloches.
Harvest courgettes when they are about 10cm (4in) long. Let them grow longer and they will gradually turn into marrows and loose their taste and texture. By harvesting young you will encourage more fruit to appear.
Either cut them off with a sharp knife or twist them off with your hands
Courgettes and zucchini are normally health plants if the instructions on watering described previously are followed.
However they do occasionally suffer from pests and diseases. Especially troublesome are slugs because they love young courgette and zucchini plants.
Keep an eye out for them and act quick.
These can destroy seedlings by eating them away above and below ground. The signs are leaves which been eaten leaving ragged edges.
Your vegetables and plants are slug paradise - wet winters combined with temperate wet summers provide the ideal conditions for slugs. Their natural enemies, weather-wise, are frosty winters and hot summers.
The most common slug is the garden slug ('Arion hortensis' to be precise). It's grey or brown and only 4cm (1.5in) long. It slithers around your garden on an orange sole. Another slug you may may well meet is the field slug ('Derocerus reticulatum'). This one is different from the garden slug because it has distinct brown patches on it's sides. Both slugs are bad news for your tender plants and vegetables.
Another common slug you will meet looks a bit more of a monster - it can be up to 15cm (6in) long and is called the 'black slug' because of it's colour. Many people assume that this is the slug which is doing all the damage. In fact it causes very little damage to your plants - it's the much smaller garden and field slugs which cause all the damage. So the motto with slugs is 'ignore the big black ones'!
There is a less common slug known as the keeled slug (Milax budapestensis). It's about 10cm (4in) long and has a definite ridge down its back. It's not as common as the other slugs, but it does cause considerable damage.
There are a variety of non-chemical solutions to slugs, some of which are described below. Talk to gardeners in your area to find out what they use.
Nematodes are the latest and it seems the most effective way of controlling slugs, this beats the chemical alternatives easily. Nematodes are tiny organisms, so small they are invisible to the eye.




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