Several people have asked me if there is a difference between a courgette and a marrow, or if a courgette, marrow and zucchini are the same?

Many people have different opinions, but the main fact is that there is no essential difference between a courgettes and a marrow.

Courgettes and Marrows are members of the same family the Cucurbita pepo cultivars. Therefore the courgette and marrow do look the same but have different cultivators.

Courgettes are also known as zucchini which is the Italian word for courgette or little gourd, but the word zucchini is also very popular in America.

So there is a difference but the courgettes and marrows are about the breeding of the plant and they are interchangeable, you can grow courgettes and pick them when they are small – around 5”, and sometimes you have forgotten to pick one that is hiding under a leaf, this is now a large courgette, this fruit can still be used like a marrow. Or you can grow a marrow and pick these smallish – 5 – 7” – (a marrow is often darker skin – but not always) or allow them to grow big and pick them as marrows, these larger marrows can be kept for several months stored in a cool dry place.

It’s important to continue picking the fruits of the courgettes, marrows or zucchini’s as this will encourage the plants to keep producing. If you don’t continue picking the fruit the plants will slow down and stop producing anymore fruits.

There are different coloured courgettes and marrows, often marrows are darker and they also have stripes, courgettes come in lighter to darker shades and they also come in yellow, courgettes also come in a ball shape or the cylinder shape – so plenty to choose from.

You can start harvesting as soon as the plant is fruiting, but the timing depends on when you have sown the seed and your local weather. If you want the plant to fruit early then I would recommend to plant one in the greenhouse or tunnel. Thought the heat from a greenhouse or tunnel seems to encourage the leaves to grow. If this happens you can control it by keeping the greenhouse or tunnel well ventilated, but you also need to consider the other plants you may have in there.

Therefore I personally would only crop a few early plants in a greenhouse or tunnel and would put the other plants outside. Cropping of these plants will start later but will continue into autumn, though the production will slow down as the days get shorter. It’s a good idea to have a succession of plants so some plants can go in later to keep production levels higher. Because many people sow too many seeds and will get a glut of fruit and they do not know what to do with these. I make ratatouille for the freezer, dehydrate the fruit and even make flour from the dehydrated fruit.

Having said that, many people grow too many plants in the garden and get a glut of fruit. There are only so many courgettes you can eat!