Zucchini Shooting Star F1 - Cucurbita pepo

The Courgette Shooting Star is a very unique courgette with its climbing habit and beautiful yellow colour. This English variety offers abundant fruit harvests that do not become waterlogged, making it well-suited for salads and quick cooking. It is a courgette that can be grown vertically by regularly training it, making it ideal for small gardens and balconies.

Sow under cover from April to May or directly in the ground from late May to late June for a harvest from July to October. 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... Squashes and courgettes offer a surprising variety of shapes, colours, and sizes because they hybridize with remarkable ease. That's why there are so many different varieties.

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

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

In cooking, 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, especially 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.

Harvest: Courgettes are harvested when young and fresh.

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

Gardener's tip: Don't forget the flowers! Even though the vegetable garden is primarily intended for producing high-quality vegetables, it is always interesting to plant flowers. First of all, for the aesthetic pleasure they provide, 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 cautious of certain plants, such as Borage, which tends to self-seed abundantly in cultivation spaces.