Soleil F1

Why it suits Ireland

The single most common mistake with courgettes here is missing a fruit for a week and finding a marrow, at which point the plant slows right down. In a dull Irish August, hunting for dark green fruit under dark green leaves in the rain is genuinely difficult. A yellow courgette solves that, and one yellow plant beside one green one is the arrangement most people settle on after a season or two.

The upright habit helps for the same reason. An open plant that holds its leaves clear of the crown lets you see and reach the fruit without wrestling the foliage, and it keeps air moving through the middle, which delays powdery mildew.

Like all courgettes it needs pollinating insects to set fruit, and in a cool wet spell it will drop small fruit exactly like a green one does. Hand pollination on a dry morning is the fix.

Growing notes

Sow one seed on edge in a 9cm pot in late April or early May at 18 to 25C, and plant out at the end of May or in early June once the frosts are done.

Allow 90cm each way in the ground, or use a container of at least 40 litres on a sheltered patio, where the bright fruit look well and the slugs have a longer journey.

Water at the base twice a week and feed with a high potash feed once fruit starts setting. Pick at 12 to 15cm with a knife, leaving a short stalk, and check every second day, because a yellow courgette left too long goes pale, seedy and dull rather than gaining anything.