Murdo Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 I was starting an entire mini thread over in the 'my harvest' topic all on my own, so I thought I'd pull it together here. Someone asked for good beginners plants. I think courgettes qualify since once they get past sluggable size they grow quickly and easily.Plus they produce such good crops, and just keep producing them, over several weeks. Two or three courgette plants gives us enough to get through a summer. Not really a square foot plant though. They can grow pretty huge. (But see my question below. I'm no expert on varieties, but as well as the normal green ones you see in the shops you can get yellow ones and (I think) black. Mixed packs of seeds are available (and for me a pack usually does several years. I've only once had a germination problem, and the seeds were about five years old by then.) The yellow ones develop on the plant more slowly than the green ones. This can be useful as if you go away at the wrong time you can come back to find that in the week you're away those tender little stubs have turned into marrow sized monsters, and it's vegetable curry for a week. Start them in pots. You're supposed to put two seeds in and discard the weaker seedling, although I've always found they can usually all make perfectly good plants. Once they get a couple of leaves on them plant them out. If you can stave off the slugs for the first couple of weeks then they reach a point where they're just to big to be slugged. By the time I plant out they're big enough to take a single attack, and then the next night I go out and pick off all the slugs that have come back for seconds. Repeated two or three times it seems to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murdo Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 (edited) And the reason I started this was to post a question for the several other courgette growers out there. Last year I dotted the courgettes around the rather ill disciplined garden. They made pretty good weed suppressants once they got going. The huge leaves spread out and the biggest covered an area about 3 feet by 6 by the end of the summer, with the stems meandering across the ground and starting little forests wherever they chose. This year I ignored the spacing distance and squeezed three plants into a raised bed about a foot apart in a triangle. And this year they are growing upwards instead of outward. So has anyone else observed this. Am I doing a different type this year or is it that if you plant them close together they're nicely disciplined, but if you give them space they slob all over the place ? Edited July 21, 2005 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Agree with you there Murdo - a good starters plant. You can cheat with Square 30 gardening by planting one plant in a front square and letting it trail all over the path or by using a back square and training it up canes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motherhen Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Being a total beginner at the growing stuff, I used 2 packs of courgette seeds, germinated with love in the hot porch, and then had a lot of plants. They were quite small so I put them in really big pots in 3's or 4's - and left half of them in the cold greenhouse. We now have a backyard that son is kindly describing as 'bit green and lush' The courgettes in the greenhouse have grown humungous leaves, not set fruit yet, and have been moved outside. The ones outside are starting to give us courgettes - we have regular green long ones and golf ball ones - and the earliest fruiters are the ones in the smallest pots. So I think I will go with planting just 8 seeds next year, in 2 groups of 4 spaced a month apart, move them outside when I plant up in the big containers, and keep them fairly tight in the pots for courgettes rather than leaves. What a lot I've learnt about courgettes in just one season If anyone else wants to pass on their wisdom on this matter (and I suspect we'll all need courgette recipes soon ) please do so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murdo Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 (and I suspect we'll all need courgette recipes soon ) Yup. They can get a bit boring after a while. However we finally found two or three slightly out of the ordinary favourites and I'll post them later. Fried with lemon and basil Similar with red wine And an excellent courgette, saffron and cream sauce. I can't help noticing that what they have in common is that (a) they're not exactly slimming, and (b) they don't actually taste of courgette. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KateB Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Probably my favourite pasta dish ever... Finely dice a couple of shallots, saute in a pan but try not to brown, add a courgette which you have halved and then cut into thin strips and again,cook for a few mins to soften slightly but not colour. Meanwhile pop some pasta on, I love farfalle (? the bow one...) with this but whatever you've got will be fine. Add a good slug of white wine to the courgette pan, reduce quite considerably so you're left with about 3 tbsp. Add handful of thinly sliced mushrooms. Add a decent dash of Worcestershire sauce, juice of half a small lemon salt and pepper. I then add some finely sliced parma ham but obviously this is optional for those who are veggie. Turn off the heat, add 1/2 to 3/4 of a small tub of creme fraiche (I use the half fat one as it's the only organic one I can find) and stir. Add some freshly grated parmesan, stir again and serve with pasta. Keep tasting whilst cooking as sometimes it needs a little more lemon, worcest or wine. Yum, yum, yum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna 1 Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Ooh I love oven roasted courgettes. I chop up a selection of vegetables (courgettes, aubergine, red onion, asparagus and fennel for choice) toss them in a bit of olive oil and roast them till they look done Then I toss them in a dressing made from olive oil, leon joice, balsamic vinegar, salt and black pepper together with a good handful of ripped up basil leaves. Very yummy with almost anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahJo Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 This year I ignored the spacing distance and squeezed three plants into a raised bed about a foot apart in a triangle. And this year they are growing upwards instead of outward. .... ,I have mine purposefully going "UP" as they take over otherwise .. they will climb, so can be put into patio pots, if you are short of space. The pumpkins also like to go up, and are invading the beans and Ivy ... though not a problem, as they look really funky mixed in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 Maybe it shouldnt, but it always amazes me how much eglu owners have in common......... Its wonderful to see what everyone else is doing with their courgettes, I have never grown them before..so proloifc they are now our staple diet, the family asks "what are we having with our courgettes tonight"! Most satisfying is a courgette omlet all home grown and laid. I hope I can find a way to post this now.............. Sally green eglu two speckeldy hens, ella and bella..........where are the icons?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowcloud Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 I have grown courgettes for a few years now, in pots on the patio. I train them to grow up and the tie them to strong bamboo poles. Since I got the chicken they grow at least twice as fast with a monthly application of chicken poo - Pumpkins are the same, they love it. If you are interested, try my website which is devoted to gardens and cooking. It has a specific page on courgettes with a great recipe for feta cheese and courgettes baked in honey and olive oil - it is the best. http://www.geocities.com/stinkycabage/courgette.html Good luck all ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel (& Paul) Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 I have grown courgettes for a few years now, in pots on the patio. I train them to grow up and the tie them to strong bamboo poles. Since I got the chicken they grow at least twice as fast with a monthly application of chicken poo - Pumpkins are the same, they love it. If you are interested, try my website which is devoted to gardens and cooking. It has a specific page on courgettes with a great recipe for feta cheese and courgettes baked in honey and olive oil - it is the best. http://www.geocities.com/stinkycabage/courgette.html Good luck all ... What a great website! I am not green fingered,but hope to be so am glad of any tips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 Yum! - thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 That is a lovely website, Snowcloud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cate in NZ Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 Lovely website Snowcloud thanks. We're definitely trying that courgette recipe, I have something of a surplus right now, and it's not exactly the childrens favourite vegetable . I think they'll like it with feta & honey though, and by coincidence I bought a jar of local honey yesterday- yum. That blackberry clafoutis looks tempting too, and I already have a few ripe blackberries in the garden, if I can find a few more in the local hedgerows this week I'll have an evening meal thanks to your recipes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
