Sowing squash and courgettes

Where to sow squashes and courgettes?

Sowing squashes and courgettes is easy to do, and can be carried out in pots or directly in the ground.

These are hungry vegetables that thrive in rich, loose and deep soils. It’s advisable to add a generous amount of compost, around 3 to 4 kg per m². This is a space-consuming crop: allow a minimum area of one square metre per plant.

Courgette plant

When to sow squashes and courgettes?

Squashes and courgettes can be sown:

– From mid-April to mid-May indoors or in a heated greenhouse,

– From mid-May to mid-July directly in the ground.

How to sow squash and courgettes?

You can prepare seedlings to be planted in the vegetable garden once all risk of frost has passed or sow directly in the ground.

• Preparing seedlings:

– Fill pots or seed trays with good-quality compost,
– Place two or three seeds per pot (preferably pointed end down), pressing them about 2 cm deep, and cover with compost,
– Water lightly using a fine spray to avoid displacing the seeds.

Keep them warm and in good light, at around 20°C, and maintain moist (but not waterlogged) soil until germination, which usually takes 5 to 8 days. Once the seedlings are well developed, thin them out, keeping only the strongest plant.

Young courgette seedlings ready to be transplanted into pots

• Direct sowing in the ground (after mid-May):

Sow in stations, in weed-free and loosened soil, spacing plants one metre apart in all directions:

– Dig holes 2 to 3 cm deep using a dibber,
– Place three seeds per hole and cover with fine soil, then firm lightly,
– Water lightly using a fine spray to avoid displacing the seeds,
– Keep the soil moist until germination.

After germination, once the seedlings are well developed, thin them out, keeping only the strongest plant per station.

→ Learn more about station sowing