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Courgettes, Marrows, Squashes, Pumpkins and Gourds

These all belong to the Gourd section of the Cucumber family and are basically grown in the same way. Courgettes are only baby Marrows and are picked while still small. The plants, especially Pumpkins, take a up a lot of room. If you do not have a lot of ground to spare, just grow one of the Courgette varieties and towards the end of the season, allow a couple of the fruits to mature to full size Marrows. There are also yellow varieties of Courgettes. There are many varieties of the Squashes and Gourds that come in many shapes, flavours and colours, not, all of which are edible. Some are only grown for their decorative value.

They all need a sunny, sheltered position, as none of them are hardy. The soil should be well drained and extremely rich in humus with a pH of around 6.0.

Sow the seed in late April or early May, in pots of compost. Sow 2 seeds on their sides ½" deep in a 3" pot. Keep in a propagator or warm windowsill at 60F until germinated and then remove the weaker seedling. Plant out in the final growing position when all danger of frost has passed.

Alternatively sow pairs of seeds directly where they are to grow, removing the weaker seedling on germination, 2 weeks before the last frosts and protect with a cloche.

Plant out 2' apart for Courgettes and Marrows and 3' apart for the larger Pumpkins and most of the Squash varieties.

Keep the plants free of weeds and well watered.

Courgettes may also be grown and trained up a frame if space is short. A wigwam of garden canes can be used for this.

Cut the Courgettes while they are still small, less than 6" long. They may still have the flower attached at this size. The flower can also be eaten and is considered a delicacy in some restaurants. Cut Marrows when they are about 15" long. Towards the end of the season the Marrows can be cut and left in the sun to ripen and then put into storage for winter use.

Pumpkins are greedy and will need to be fed with a liquid fertiliser on a fortnightly basis from midsummer to early autumn. Pinch back the trailing stems to keep the plants in check. The fruits of both Pumpkins and Squashes should be left on the plant as long as possible to allow them to ripen and the skins to harden. The harder the skins, the better they will keep in storage. Cut from the plant before the first frost.

Pests and Diseases

They are generally trouble free but slugs, Aphids and Cucumber Mosaic virus may be problems. (See relative Pests and Diseases sections for prevention/cures)