"Growing Courgettes"

Growing courgettes, or zucchini as they are known in some parts of the world, couldn't be easier.

They grow prolifically once you get them going and it will be hard to keep up with your crops.

Courgettes can be pickled or frozen to store, although giving some away is just as good!

Thompson and Morgan are a world wide seed company and have a wide range of courgette seed available. For UK deliveries click on this link to take you directly to the courgette page. Growing courgettes in the UK with Thompson & Morgan

For US deliveries click here: Growing courgettes in the US with Thompson & Morgan

And for all other countries, start from their homepage and follow the flags! Thompson & Morgan Homepage

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Growing courgettes from seed:

Start your seeds in a warm place, preferably a greenhouse or conservatory. Prepare well drained pots of fresh seed compost. Biodegradable pots are best. You can make or buy them. See below for a great pot making tool. Sow two or three seeds per pot, and keep the compost damp but never waterlogged. Label if you are growing other squash plants, as they all look very similar in the early stages of growth.

When the seedlings are growing and have two or three true leaves, remove the weaker plants from each pot. These can be re-planted if you want to grow many plants. NB: One plant can produce many courgettes, so if you are short of space, a few plants will be enough to plant out.

Growing courgettes- planting out:

After all danger of a frost has passed and your plants have at least three or four true leaves ( not counting the first two ), plant them out in a sunny well drained spot in the garden. Allow plenty of space between plants. Check on the seed packet for growing recommenadtions for your particular variety but generally you will need to allow each plant 2-3ft (60-90cms) of growing room.

Keep watered and weed-free until the plants grow large enough to cope with weeds on their own. Squash plants have large leaves and shade the ground around them leaving weeds little room to develop.

Cut courgettes carefully with a sharp knife through the thick stalk as and when you want them. Don't let them grow too big. Small courgettes are tastier and your plants will be encouraged to produce more fruits if they are cut regularly.

Courgette seed can be planted directly in the vegetable garden in late spring, again after all danger of frost has passed. These plants will produce fruits a little later in the year and, depending on the climate, can produce courgettes well into the autumn months.

Making your own pots is cost effective and environment friendly. When seedlings are ready to plant out, transplant them straight into the garden in their bio-degradable paper pots. Great rainy day job!

Happy Gardening!

Grow Your Own Groceries: Producing your own food is not only rewarding but - in times of economic and environmental changes - increasingly a must! Nature provides everything the human body requires to thrive, and cultivating some of those natural products in your own back garden will not only produce the best food on the planet for you and your loved ones, it is also economical, environmentally friendly and more fun than shopping. You can also find more about growing courgettes in this book!

You'll also find gardening advice as well as some ideas on planning a herb garden. Order it now direct from the publisher... Herb Gardening

http://www.flower-and-garden-tips.com/growingcourgettes.html