Quality seeds for kitchen, cottage and native gardeners
Vegetable Seeds Catalogue
Zucchini
Sds/g: 6-10 Feed Requirements: Moderate Usual Seed Life: 3-4 years
Cultural Notes:
- Prolific producers through summer, the more they are harvested the more they produce. Plant once clear of the last frost.
- To get an early start it is best to pre-sprout seed indoors or sow in cells/punnets as seed will struggle to germinate in soils less than 17ºC. Once up the do not mind cool weather but try to ensure your last frost has passed.
Problems:
- A cool and moist spring and autumn will see downy mildew set in.
Harvest:
- Harvest young, small squash as this is when thy taste best. Flowers can also be used in cooking.
Sowing periods
An Italian heirloom prized for its excellent flavour and firm but tender flesh. The fruits are dark green with light green stripes, straight with slight ribbing. Also known as 'Cocozella di Napoli'. The bushes tend to be a bit smaller than some of its wilder cousins. Use in zucchini slice, pickled, steamed, stuffed or brightening stir fries. 12 seeds.
The classic zucchini that produces a high yields and has a robust, upright growing habit that allows easy picking. ‘Black Beauty’ is a very dark green, glossy skinned variety with creamy, white flesh. It produces fruit over a long period. 20 seeds.
A French variety that produces a large amount of small, round light green zucchinis with white markings. Tastiest when picked under 10cm, use steamed or stir fried with other vegetables. The delicate flesh and skin bruise easily, which is why they are not seen in supermarkets. The larger ones tend to hollow out, making them ideal for stuffing. 12 seeds
An Italian heirloom that can grow to over 1m long but is best picked young, while the skin is soft and the flesh tender. Mature fruit curl with a bulb on the end. Excellent flavour and fun to grow. This variety grows as a vine, unlike most zucchinis and can be grown up a trellis so fruit hang & grow straight. 10 seeds.
Popular for over 150 years, this easy-to-grow zucchini has a curiously bent, swan-necked. A bush variety that produces an abundance of fruit best eaten young when it has a sweet, buttery flavour & firm texture. 10 seeds.
A Lebanese zucchini with a sweet nutty flavour. The light green, tapered fruits are best pick 8-14 cm long for the best flavour, but they do maintain flavour when larger as well. Use in stir fries, zucchini slice, pickled, steamed or stuffed. The earliest and longest cropping zucchinis we have come across. 10 seeds. Treated seed.
An Italian heirloom that is one of the best tasting zucchinis around. A great nutty flavour with a firm flesh and texture whether cooked or raw. Can also be picked young with the flowers still attached for the gourmet meal. The skins are prominently ribbed and green with pale green flecks. 10 seeds.
Want a happy and bright change from the darker zucchini’s? This golden child is the perfect choice as it is tender and delicious, with creamy white flesh. A productive heirloom with an open, upright habit. For the best flavour pick when 14-20 cm long. Use in zucchini slice, pickled, steamed, stuffed or brightening stir fries. 20 seeds.
A mild flavoured zucchini that is extremely popular in Mexico and southwestern USA. Similar to a Lebanese zuc with light mottled green, cylindrical fruits taper to the stem end, just a smaller bulb end with a milder tatse. For the best flavour pick when 12-16 cm long. Use in stir fries, zucchini slice, pickled, steamed or stuffed. Great for BBQs. 15 seeds.