Thompson & Morgan Courgette Patio Star F1 Hybrid 6 Seed

Courgette - Patio Star F1 Hybrid

Courgettes that run wild are a thing of the past with Patio Star. This British bred variety is neat and compact; you can even grow it in a patio pot for easy access to the tasty fruit.

Start off in 7.5cm pots indoors and plant out in your vegetable plot. Fill pots with good, free-draining, damp, seed compost. Sow seeds 1cm deep in the compost. Place the pots in a propagator or seal inside a polythene bag and keep at around 20-25C until the seeds germinate. This will take about 7-10 days. Don’t exclude light as this helps germination. Acclimatise the plants to cooler conditions by putting them outside for a few hours a day for a few weeks. Before planting out in the garden, prepare the ground by raking until it is fine and crumbly, removing any large stones. Plant out when all risk of frost has gone, about 60cm apart between each plant and between each row. Water courgettes regularly and do not allow the soil to dry out as this will impair their development. Hoe between plants regularly to prevent weeds from establishing. Courgettes appreciate an application of a high potash fertiliser every two weeks during the growing season. Hand pollinating courgettes is not usually required when they are grown outdoors. However, for indoor cultivation the female flowers can be fertilised by pressing a male flower against them. Begin harvesting courgettes from midsummer onwards when they are 10cm long. Regular harvesting will encourage more courgettes to be produced.