Courgette Seeds

Courgettes are a great choice to grow from seed for beginners, delivering fabulous crops that will make you the envy of your neighbours. They’re well-loved by vegetable gardeners as they crop quickly and have versatile uses in the kitchen. We recommend picking them with young for the best flavour, although there always seems to be one hiding away, determined to become a marrow! Courgettes should be started indoors, sown individually on edge in small pots of seed compost. Gradually accustom young plants to outdoor conditions for 2-3 weeks before planting out to their cropping positions, after risk of frost has passed. You may choose to thin to leave the strongest plants, then water well until established. To maximise your harvest, remove all fruits of a suitable size 2-3 times per week, whether required in the kitchen or not, to encourage your plants to invest their energy into other baby courgettes. Courgettes make a delicious soup or may be eaten fried in a little butter. Even their attractive golden-yellow flowers and edible and may be added to decorate your meals. Courgettes are best picked when 10-15cm (4-6in) long and eaten as soon as possible, while if they’re left to become larger marrows, they can be stored for future use.