Get set for courgettes

Sow courgette and squash seeds now to enjoy bountiful harvests throughout the summer, says Sue Bradley, as she reveals varieties ideal for all garden situations

- Sue Bradley

COURGETTES and squash are versatile crops with simple needs that keep on giving throughout the summer.

Provide them with fertile soil in a sheltered sunny spot and keep them moist, and then get ready to harvest the emerging fruits on a regular basis.

The choice of varieties is huge, with a wide range of colours, shapes, textures and uses to consider. Plants can be bushy or sprawling, or even upright climbers, which means there’s a cultivar for near enough every garden situation, from allotments to patio pots.

Culinary uses

While courgettes are short-lived summer treats, most squash can be stored for several months. Squash have complex flavours, making them a tasty ingredient in everything from pies to risottos, and they can always be relied on for warming winter soups.

The culinary uses for courgettes are endless: they can be grilled, baked, fried, boiled or stuffed, combined with tomatoes in ratatouille, eaten fresh in salads, pushed through a spiralizer to make ‘courgetti’, made into cakes or muffins and even pickled in brine.

And don’t forget that the male flowers can be dipped in a tempura batter and deep fried or, as Paolo Arrigo of Franchi Seeds of Italy prefers, teamed with a good cheese and added to an omelette.

“Pick them in the morning when they’re open: you will wonder why you haven’t eaten them this way all the time,” he says. “The male flowers are the ones with stalks. Courgette ‘Da Fiore Toscana’ is a great variety for flowers.”

Tender plants

Both courgettes and squash belong to the cucurbita family, members of which are tender and need a frost-free environment. In the UK they belong to the hardiness zone H2.