Cucurbita pepo 'Midnight' - Courgette [British Grown]

This vegetable plant will grow you courgettes ready for harvest in summer; flowers in summer are star-shaped and yellow in colour. Half hardy in the UK, it cannot stand temperatures below freezing.

Grow your own courgettes to keep your table full of greens this summer with the 'Midnight' courgette plant. Remember to harvest once the courgettes have reached the desired size; if you forget they will keep growing into marrows which, while still edible, are more watery, less tasty and much bigger! This variety is compact, so is well suited to small gardens or containers, and is nearly spineless, making harvest time more comfortable! Courgette plants can be very prolific, and harvesting them encourages more veg to grow! At the height of summer you could be getting up to a courgette a day- they will keep for 1-2 weeks in the fridge, but if you want to keep them any longer, chop them up and freeze them. This will save you money in winter, as well as reducing your food miles when courgettes are no longer in season in the UK!

Scientific Name
Cucurbita pepo var. cylindrica (gourd pumpkin, cylindrical variety) 'Midnight'

Common Name
Courgette, Zucchini, Marrow, Summer Squash

Origin
Native to Central and South America

Pruning Tips
Pruning is not required, though of course it's a good idea to harvest the fruit when ripe throughout summer! The first fruits will usually be small; pick these and you'll encourage more, larger courgettes to grow! If you have limited space, you can prune any stems that grow too long; training up a sturdy structure will also help in this case.

Wildlife Value
This plant is not native to the UK; the solitary bees that specifically pollinate it are native to the US. However, honey bees and bumblebees can be attracted to courgette flowers. Growing companion flowers will help attract pollinators to your courgette flowers.

Positioning
Position in full sun with shelter from the wind. The fruit will need plenty of sun to ripen!

Water
Courgettes need lots of moisture to grow, but won't do well if the leaves, flowers or fruit is sat on top of soggy soil. make sure when you water, it sinks into the ground and reaches the root; one way of doing this is sinking a small plant pot into the ground next to the plant and watering into that.

Soil
Ensure your soil is moist but well-draining so the vines and fruit won't be sat in any puddles. Acidic to neutral soil works best.

Food
When the first fruits start to swell, feed regularly with a high-potassium fertiliser to help them grow! It's also a good idea to add fresh compost or fertiliser to the ground before planting them out, and/or adding mulch around the plant once it's in the ground; keep moist mulch slightly away from the stem.

Pet-safe
Yes; this plant is edible, but don't eat if your crop tastes bitter. Can have negative effects on pets and humans in this case, especially if eaten in large amounts.

Sprouts Top Tips
When deciding when and where to plant your pumpkin, think carefully! It will need lots of sun to ripen, but shelter from wind and bad weather; it appreciates moist soil but cannot sit in soggy ground; and, of course, it will need plenty of space to grow! Additionally, this plant is not frost hardy, so it will thrive best somewhere indoors in the sun until the risk of frost has passed (here in Bristol, this is around the end of May).

Extras
Courgettes are actually botanically fruits, as they grow from the flowers and have seeds inside!