Different Types of Courgette: Round, Yellow and Climbing Varieties

What Varieties of Courgette Are There?

Courgettes are very easy to grow yourself in the garden. They are hardy and high-yielding, making them ideal for the home garden. The fruits of courgette plants come in different shapes and colours. Apart from the classic green variety, they are available in white, green or yellow, striped varieties or uniform colours. The golden, elongated fruits of the 'Gold Rush' variety are particularly delicate and delight with their radiant colour. There are now numerous varieties, so that round courgette varieties such as the 'Round Courgette' are also available. Depending on the variety, the fruits from just 1 - 2 plants are enough to meet the needs of an entire family.

Round Courgette Varieties

• ,Tondo di Toscana': Traditional variety from northern Italy with light green, spherical fruits. Harvest the courgettes young for a particularly tender taste.
• ,Tondo chiaro di Nizza': Initially bushy growing, later slightly climbing variety with very decorative, spherical fruits. The delicate, light green balls are slightly marbled with firm, white, very tender flesh and soft skin.
• ,One Ball F1: Hybrid variety with yellow, rather smaller fruits. Round courgettes are particularly good for hollowing out, stuffing and roasting in the oven.
• ,Tondo di Piacenza: The traditional Italian variety of Ronde de Nice produces round, tasty fruits with a dark skin. Harvest in good time so that they do not grow too large.

Planting Yellow Courgette Varieties

• ,Lemon': Yellow courgette variety in a special lemon shape. The sun-yellow, handy fruits have slightly orange stripes - a real eye-catcher.
• 'Soleil': High-yielding courgette variety with elongated, yellow fruits. It is highly resistant to powdery mildew.
• 'Yellow Patisson': Courgette with yellow skin and star shape. Harvest the fruits as small as possible (diameter < 6 cm/2.4 in) so that new inflorescences can be set immediately.
• 'Orelia F1': High-yielding, yellow courgette variety with elongated fruits. Harvest begins in June and continues into the autumn.
• ,Siesta F1: Courgette variety with yellow skin and clear white stripes. It is particularly decorative and has a good aroma.
• ,Gold Rush': Golden-yellow, elongated fruits with a fine aroma. Harvest the fruits young and regularly so that the plant can immediately produce new flowers.

Plant Knowledge at a Glance

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Heirloom Varieties of Courgette

• 'Coucourzelle di Tripolis': Tried and tested Italian variety. Courgette with dark green skin and light green stripes, club-shaped.
• 'Nero di Milano': Traditional Italian variety with very elongated fruits. A courgette with very dark green, almost green-black skin. The strikingly large flowers can be used well in the kitchen.
• 'Verde D'Italia': Traditional heirloom variety from Italy with long, dark green fruits. This courgette variety is particularly productive and tasty.
• 'Zuboda': Elongated, apple-green fruits with a cucumber-like taste. This variety is particularly high-yielding and tastes very juicy and refreshing.

White Courgettes: These Varieties Are Available

• ,Erken': Open-pollinated variety with greenish-creamy white fruits. This courgette variety grows slightly creeping and is very productive. Due to its growth habit, you can also grow this variety vertically as a climbing courgette plant.
• 'Custard White': This special variety forms flat, round and cream-coloured pumpkins with delicate skin, which is why it can be processed like a courgette. The fruits have a mild taste and a slight artichoke aroma.
• ,Bianco di Sicilia': Elongated fruits that only change colour from light green to creamy white as they ripen.

Climbing Courgette Varieties: Space-Saving Gardening

Climbing courgette plants are less well-known than bushy varieties. However, these varieties are ideal for vertical cultivation in pots or on the balcony. So if you have little space but still want to garden, then climbing courgettes are just the thing for you.

Climbing Courgettes: Varieties for Growing in Pots

• ,Tromboncino d'Albenga' (also: 'Zucchetta'): This traditional Italian climbing courgette forms long, curved light green to beige fruits. It belongs to the musk pumpkin family and is resistant to pests and diseases.
• ,Black Forest': climbing courgette with dark green fruits. This variety is suitable for the open field, balcony and pot and can grow to a height of up to 2 meters/2.2 yd. Unfortunately, this variety is an F1 hybrid and is therefore not true to type.
• ,Shooting Star': A courgette with yellow fruits. As it is also an F1 hybrid, you cannot obtain your own seeds. This variety reaches heights of up to 1.2 m/47.2 in.

You can find Tips on Growing Courgettes Vertically in Pots in this article. Climbing courgettes are a space-saving option for growing your own courgettes on the balcony. Mixed cultures are possible even in small spaces, for which you can find inspiration and ideas in our digital bed plans.

Obtain Your Own Seeds of Open-Pollinated Varieties

New hybrid varieties (F1) cannot be propagated from their own seeds; they lose more of their original characteristics with each generation. However, you can obtain your own seeds from old, true-to-type courgette varieties. So if you want to obtain your own seeds from a particularly high-yielding variety, you should only Grow Open-Pollinated Plants in your garden. The variety 'Cocozelle di Tripolis' is a true-to-type courgette variety that is very popular with many home gardeners.

Cucurbits like to cross-pollinate with each other, which means that the varieties mix. To prevent this, you can keep a sufficient distance from the next pumpkin plant or use an isolation tunnel. Otherwise, you risk taking seeds that produce inedible and even poisonous fruit. Therefore, avoid growing courgettes and pumpkins at the same time, especially ornamental pumpkins in the same season. Otherwise, the variety may lose its specific characteristics when crossed. It can also lead to increased storage of the bitter substance cucurbitacin. This not only makes the fruit inedible, but also poisonous. The original courgette varieties produced cucurbitacin as a natural protection against being eaten. In more recent varieties, the bitter substance has been bred out.

And This Is How the Seed Harvest Works:

To do this, the seeds are scraped out of a properly ripened fruit together with the pulp and placed in a bowl of lukewarm water. After a few days, the mixture begins to ferment and the pulp dissolves. The seeds are then washed in a coarse sieve and laid out to dry. When drying, make absolutely sure that the seeds are completely dry, otherwise they will go mouldy later. Seeds should generally never be dried in the sun, as this weakens their germination capacity.

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