Courgettes

Courgettes are a useful crop and belong to the same family as marrows, pumpkins and summer squashes

Courgettes
Season
Summer
Name

Courgettes

Common Name
Courgettes
Description

Two courgette plants will produce enough for a family. They love to grow in sunny places and are best sown outside in early June and produce lots of harvest and use in the kitchen.


Growing Tips

When to grow:

Courgettes can be sown outside in early June in the place where they are going to grow.

What you’ll need:

  • Gardening gloves
  • Packet of courgette seeds
  • Trowel
  • Rake
  • Label and pencil

What you do:

  1. Courgettes can be sown straight in to the ground where they are going to grow, so make sure the space you are going to sow is weed free, by using a trowel to remove the weeds.
  2. Prepare a square of soil about 60cm in width for each sowing. Sow two or three seeds 2.5cm (1in) deep in the middle of each of your prepared squares. Cover the seeds with cloches or horticultural fleece and leave in place for two weeks, or as long as possible, after germination.
  3. When the seedlings have developed, thin out to leave the strongest one.
  4. Courgettes are thirsty plants and need weekly watering around the plant, not on the leaves. You can dig a hole near the plant and place a small plant pot in the hole. Water in the plant pot and the water will get straight to the roots.
  5. Harvest the courgettes when they are about 10–12cm long, remember to keep picking so you will get a long cropping time.

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.