Courgette

Black Beauty – curcubita pepo from Kings Seeds, organic

Germinates in soil temperatures of 20-25°. They're big seeds, so sow 2cm deep and they take 5 to 12 days to germinate. Last year I found they grew really quickly, so I've put the seeds straight into pots rather than in a seedraising tray, and will try and get them transplanted from there into the ground as soon as possible. The plants will snake along the ground, and need to be given around a metre's room to move. I had my first courgette a month from transplanting last year, but they were actually sown 7 weeks (!) earlier which brings to the total time up to around the more usual 12 weeks from sowing.

I'll be sowing a couple of plants now, then maybe another couple in December. If this summer's conditions are as suitable as last year this will probably still supply far too many!

Once planted, keeping the powdery mildew to a minimum proved tricky last year given Auckland's humidity. Now I know to be very careful to water in the mornings and make sure the leaves stay as dry as possible.