6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

FAMILY HEIRLOOMS | Zucchini
fruit that’s full of flavour or allow them to grow
larger and serve them stuffed with a delicious
combination of rice, minced lamb, gardengrown
tomatoes and herbs.
Plant Zucchini ‘Tromboncino’ in the garden
and you’ll be picking for months on end. The
pretty light-green and cream fruit can grow
up to a metre long, but for best flavour pick
it when it’s around 25cm in length. The vine
is vigorous, too, and best grown up a trellis or
wigwam that allows the fruit to hang down.
If you’re a fan of stuffed zucchini flowers,
keep an eye out for another Italian favourite,
‘Long Florence’ (Zucca Lungo di Firenze).
This variety can take up to four months to
produce a good crop of beautiful ribbed
zucchinis (well worth the wait, though), but
the big brightly coloured flowers are also
perfect for stuffing.
Finally, completing the list of varieties you
might like to grow is Zucchini ‘Grey’, which
has a more tapered shape than other types,
with shiny grey-green skin, firm flesh and a
sweeter flavour.
Growing
Zucchini are tender annuals that can be
sown direct in spring (after the risk of frost
has passed) or in summer. They love to be
grown in a sunny spot with rich, well-drained
soil, so prepare the area first before planting
with plenty of compost and organic matter.
They prefer a pH of around 6–7.5, so add lime
to acid soils if necessary. Plants will benefit
from consistent watering and regular organic
liquid-feeds to promote a bumper crop of
flowers and fruit.
Zucchini are normally pollinated by bees,
so plant blue-flowering beauties such as
catmint, salvia and lavender as companion
plants around your vegie patch and watch the
bees buzz into your garden. Forget-me-nots
and nasturtiums are bee magnets, too, along
with fragrant herbs including thyme, basil,
borage and sage.
‘Golden’ and ‘Black Beauty’
‘Black Beauty’
‘Cocozelle’
‘Long Florence’ have the
biggest flowers for stuffing
‘Tromboncino’
‘Grey’
CanStockPhoto, Nadiatalent CC
26 | Good Organic Gardening