Zucchini Midnight F1 - Cucurbita pepo

The Midnight F1 Courgette is an excellent variety that produces elongated fruits, dark green with a slight light green speckling. Very few spines and with a compact habit, it is a courgette that can be easily grown in small spaces such as balconies or square vegetable gardens. It can be sown under cover from April to May or directly in the ground from late May to late June for a harvest from July to October.

Orange, green, red, yellow, black or even blue, smooth, ribbed, warty, with tender skin... Pumpkins and courgettes offer an astonishing variety of shapes, colors, and sizes as they cross-breed with surprising ease. That's why there are so many varieties.

In common language, winter squashes refer to all kinds of pumpkins, potimarrons, butternuts, etc. with tough skin and delicately sweet flesh. Summer squashes or courgettes (in Latin, Cucurbita pepo) refer to the different varieties that are harvested when the skin is still tender. The latter are consumed with the seeds, when they are still tender.

All of them originate from America and belong to the large cucurbit family. They were introduced to Europe in the 16th century. Generally trailing, they cling to any support with their tendrils. Female flowers are distinguished from male flowers by their inferior ovary (below the flower), which marks the presence of an embryo fruit. In many regions, male flowers are harvested just after pollination to be stuffed or fried.

In cuisine, courgettes can be prepared in multiple ways: sautéed, fried, gratin, soups or stuffed. They are essential ingredients in Provençal ratatouille, Maghrebi couscous, and many emblematic Mediterranean dishes. They are low in calories but rich in vitamins, particularly provitamin A, vitamin B, and minerals.

Courgettes are fruit vegetables that require regular watering to give their best. They thrive in heat and sunlight and should not be planted in the garden before early June.

Note: This variety is labeled F1 for "F1 hybrid" because it is a variety resulting from the cross-breeding of carefully selected parents to combine their qualities. This results in a variety that can be particularly tasty and/or early while being resistant to certain diseases. Sometimes criticized or wrongly associated with GMOs, F1 hybrid seeds are interesting for their homogeneity and resistance, but unfortunately, their qualities do not pass on to the next generations: therefore, it will not be possible to save the seeds for later sowing.

Harvest: Courgettes are harvested young and fresh.

Storage: They can be stored for a few days at room temperature or in the lower part of the refrigerator, and cut into pieces and frozen for several months.

Gardener's tip: Don't forget the flowers! Even though the vegetable garden is primarily intended for producing quality vegetables, it is always interesting to plant flowers. Firstly, for the aesthetic pleasure they provide, especially for the beauty of certain vegetables like cabbage, but also to repel pests and attract valuable pollinators. So, don't hesitate to plant, in the middle of the rows or along the edges, Gaillardias, Marigolds, Zinnias, Cosmos, Nasturtiums, or even beautiful herbs like Dill. However, be careful with certain plants, even though they are useful, like Borage, which tends to self-sow abundantly in dedicated growing spaces.