Courgettes

Question 1

Explain soil and site selection for courgettes.

Answer 1

• Open, sunny position, sheltered
• Well-drained but plentiful moisture at root
• Plant in shallow depression in a mound.

Question 2

Explain sowing of courgettes.

Answer 2

• Sow direct in mid-May
• Two seeds per mound, thin out the weaker
• Or raise in 7cm pots in glasshouse
  
  • sow 2cm deep around edge
  • temp of 18C
• Early sowings will need cloches
• Space 90cm apart.

Question 3

Explain cultivation of courgettes.

Answer 3

• Apply a balanced liquid feed regularly once fruiting has started
• Keep water up to them (never go short)
• In cold early summers and with cloche-grown plants hand pollination may be required
• When flowers appear use high potassium feed.

Question 4

Explain harvesting of courgettes.

Answer 4

• Harvest about 6 weeks after planting
• Keep picking to encourage development
• Pick two/three times a week when 10-15cm long
• Keep in fridge to keep fresh.

Question 5

Name a pest and a disease of courgettes, including symptoms and control methods.

Answer 5

Cucumber Mosaic Virus

• Severe stunting and distortion; yellow mottling of leaves
• Destroy infected plants as soon as identified; grow resistant cultivars; crop rotation.

Slugs

• Young seedling especially vulnerable, completely destroying shoots overnight
• Raise seedlings in glasshouse before transplanting once thicker mature leaves emerge; encourage hedgehogs; use beer traps.

Question 6

Name three courgette cultivars

Answer 6

• ‘Zucchini’ F1
• ‘Modena’ F1
• ‘Tuscany’ F1.