Growing Courgettes in the Garden Route. Murgpampoentjies in die Tuinroete

I think the courgette is probably the vegetable with the biggest identity crisis. I mean some call them marrows, others baby marrows, the French and British call them courgettes (like I do), and then the Americans and Spanish call them zucchini. Maybe it is just the English language with the problem though. In Afrikaans they're simply "murgpampoentjies" (marrow-pumpkins)... that's all. One name. Sorted.

When I saw what a marvellous crop of courgettes my best friend harvested the year before last, I decided right then and there that I would also be planting them the warm season of 2014/2015. What a great decision! I planted only 6 seeds, in order to produce 3 plants in a small bed. I had a 83% germination rate, and could therefore only keep the strongest three plants. 

13 Nov 2013 - Three courgettes poking out aboveground/Murgpampoentjies agter die radyse

13 Nov 2014 - Baby courgette plant/Klein murgpampoen plantjie

19 Dec 2015 - Coming along nicely/Een van die eerste murgpampoene

21 Dec 2014 - Lovely courgette flower/Murgpampoen blom 

14 Jan 2015 - Three of the big ones/Drie ou grotes

I am really chuffed with my courgette harvest. In retrospect I realised I planted too few, but that is the nature of the game. You learn through trial and error. In a tiny space of about 1.9m x 0.5m, and with only three plants, I managed to harvest about 2kg of courgettes. When I take into account the cost of the seed at R14.00, and the compost that went into this area (also about R14.00), I ended up with a profit of R30.00. I worked this out on the price of non-organic courgettes sold at R29.99 at the local fruit and veg shop. My courgettes are also organically grown, so the profit is actually even a bit higher than that.

Whatever you decide to call courgettes, the most important thing is to plant them. You won't regret it...

Improvised stir-fry with beans, courgettes, peppers and tomato from my garden, plus butternut