Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Harvesting and storage
The harvest should begin some time in June and should continue until the first
tunnel frost, probably in November, provided you keep picking. It's extremely
easy to forget to check a plant for a few days during warm weather, and the next
time you look it will seem as if an alien Zeppelin has somehow landed in the tunnel.
A courgette of perfect picking size can turn into one of these monsters in only a
few days, and if you miss one for long, the entire plant stops producing in the
belief that it can now focus its energy on developing seeds. This will happen at
least once a season for just about everyone who grows courgettes, as the size of
the leaves and habit of growth on the central stem means a big fruit can develop
where it's difficult to see.
The flowers are edible and can be stuffed or made into fritters, but if they are not
removed they go mouldy and this can spread to the fruit. Remove any dying
blooms as soon as you can to avoid this, and if necessary keep the fruit off the
ground by putting down a light mulch of fresh straw as soon as the plant begins
to grow strongly. If the weather stays warm and dry, you will have no trouble
harvesting courgette after courgette; if it gets cooler and humid, everything
slows down and mould problems are more likely to begin.
Pick courgettes by carefully twisting the fruit until the stem attaching it to the
vine snaps. Some people are sensitive to the tiny spines on courgette leaf stems
and will get an allergic reaction on their hands unless they wear gloves while
handling the plants. The same is true of both cucumbers and melons, which are
closely related; also potatoes and other plants. Don't let this happen to you, as
it's very irritating indeed.
Although they keep for a few days longer in the fridge than at room temperature,
courgettes quickly soften and lose their flavour, so to get the most out of them do
not hide them in the fridge's salad drawer; leave them out on the counter and use
them quickly. They can be dried for storage, and are good to add to soups and
stews. There is no need to peel them; just slice them thinly, steam the slices for
three minutes, and place them on racks in the sun. When dry enough to store
they will be between leathery and brittle. This makes courgette 'crisps', which
are delicious eaten dry, but they can also be added to soups and stews, or soaked
in warm water for 20 minutes for adding to other dishes. Freezing is less successful
because the texture deteriorates, but you can freeze grated courgette if you
blanch it in boiling water for ten seconds and then drain it thoroughly before
spooning it loosely into muffin tins for the freezer. Cooked courgette freezes just
fine, and autumnal dishes such as ratatouille make good winter standbys.
Problems
Slugs
,
mice
and
powdery mildew
. Spraying the leaves each time you water will
help prevent powdery mildew, but if it develops, spraying the plant with bicar-
