Fothergill's Courgette Black Beauty Seeds

Details:

• Botanical Name: Cucurbita pepo, a time-tested, high-performance selection within the heavy-yielding Courgette genus.
• Plant Class: Half Hardy Annual, establishing with impressive speed in the spring to deliver high-volume, kitchen-ready harvests all summer long.
• Attractive Glossy Fruits: Produces beautifully uniform, straight, and slender fruits with a distinctive glossy, near-black, deep green skin that stands out beautifully in the garden and on the plate.
• Compact Bush Habit: Naturally forms a neat, open, and non-trailing bush framework. This space-saving habit allows for quick, thorn-free picking and makes it equally suited for traditional allotments, raised beds, or large pots on a sun-drenched patio.
• Gourmet Culinary Quality: Prized for its firm, seedless white flesh and excellent mild flavor. Perfect for slicing into fresh summer salads, roasting, grilling on the barbecue, or hollowed out and stuffed.
• Edible Blossoms: Features large, vibrant golden-orange flowers that can be harvested early in the morning to be stuffed, battered, and fried as a gourmet delicacy.
• Extended Cropping Window: Highly prolific and resilient, this variety will continuously pump out fresh flowers and fruits over a long period from mid-summer right up until the first autumn frosts.

Care Instructions:

• Sowing Position: Start seeds indoors from April to May by sowing individual seeds on their edges 2cm deep in pots of moist compost. Alternatively, sow directly outdoors in late May or June into rich, warm soil once all danger of frost has fully passed. Position in full sun.
• Moisture & Nutrition: Courgettes are incredibly hungry and thirsty plants. Plant them out into a sunny spot enriched with plenty of well-rotted manure or garden compost, and water them deeply and regularly at the base of the plant.
• Harvesting Tip: Use a sharp knife to harvest the courgettes when they reach about 10–15cm (4–6in) long. Regular and frequent picking is absolutely vital, as it stimulates the plant into pushing out a non-stop supply of new fruits.