How to Plant Out Courgette & Squash Seedlings

Courgettes & Squashes love good quality compost, well-rotted manure and lots of water and we like to make sure they have the best possible start.

Our Courgette seeds were sown into 9cm pots on 28th April 2014. After germination the seedlings grew like triffids and were planted out on 1st June 2013 using the following method.

1. Dig a hole,water well & allow to drain.
2. Make a mound of compost & manure on top and then pull up the surrounding soil around the compost/manure mix to create a mound with a hole, water again & allow to drain.
3. Plant the seedling into the top compost/manure and draw up some more soil over the compost mixture & give a good soaking.

We covered them with cloches just at night for the first few days to allow them to ‘harden off’ in situ but sometimes we ‘harden off’ by taking outside just in the day and returning to the greenhouse at night for a week or so before planting out.

This ‘mound’ method encourages the water to run away from the base of the courgette stem as this can have a tendency to rot if it becomes too wet.