Kitchen Garden Forum

I came back from holiday to find this Whopper on my plot. It's vital statistics were:- Weight:7.5 kilos, Length:21 inches, Girth:15.5 inches.

I gave it to a friend who took 3 meals for herself and her husband to get through it all.

That's a whopper, Piglet6, they truly are amazing things.

I couldn't eat a whole one.

But never mind that courgette, it looks like the rest of your plot is something of a triumph.

Well said, Felix.....

All looking rather fantastic Piglet, well done

I bet your courgette plant virtually died giving birth to that one !!!
Incidentally does anybody find any real differences in texture between marrows and courgettes with fruit of that size ?? I,ve never really sure in my mind what the differences are between ,argue courgettes and marrows except that the skin looks a little different.

I'd always assumed that a courgette was just an immature marrow.

Yes, I'd rather assumed that too but actually courgette and marrow seeds are sold as different varieties and marrows do look slightly different in that they are normally striped in a fairly distinctive manner.

Marrows and courgettes are fundamentally the same, originating from the same parentage. Courgettes have been selected and bred for bushy habit and prolific production, marrows for their trailing habit and stripy fruits with a harder skin. Marrows can be eaten small as courgettes, and clearly courgettes can be left to grow large. But when it comes to using them, marrows grown as marrows are better than courgettes grown as marrows, and marrows grown as courgettes are just not as nice as courgettes grown as courgettes for reasons which are rather had to define.
It's their seedlessness which sets courgette varieties apart from marrows. Modern varieties of courgette, F1 hybrids, are the result of the first-generation cross-pollination of two dissimilar parents. Their offspring produce no seed, but strive do so, cropping heavily as a consequence. Like cucumbers.

Thanks everyone. Yes, the whole plot is doing really well. I've had an amazing first year.

fabulous piglet! that looks incredible! we picked one similar size yesterday, we leave them at the front of the plot for folk to help themselves, far too large for my saucepan!