Zucchini is one of the easiest vegetables to grow from seed. The large seeds germinate easily and grow quickly, rewarding both new gardeners and avid zucchini growers. As part of the Cucurbita family, Zucchinis come in all shades of green, yellow, and sometimes even orange.

Zucchinis need pollination to produce their fruit. If your zucchini fruit starts to rot or die when around 10cm long, your zucchini has not been pollinated. You can hand-pollinate your zucchini fruit by finding the male flower (with the elongated stamen at its centre) and take the flower and insert it into the female flower (with a stigma or multiple stems looking like fingers) and ensure the male pollen touches the female pollen. The development into a zucchini occurs exclusively in the female flowers. The role of the male flowers is limited to fertilising the blossoms. Generally, male flowers outnumber their female counterparts and are larger in size.

Zucchini seed is best planted from spring to early summer at a depth of 20mm, with plants spaced at 90cm apart in a full sun position. For optimal germination of zucchini seed, ensure your soil is between 21°C and 35°C and kept moist at all times.

Zucchini seed should be sowed direct into the soil of vegetable garden as they do not like their roots to be disturbed. As this is not always possible in climates which have late frosts, you can plant your zucchini seeds into a cardboard pot indoors and then plant the pot directly into the soil of your vegetable garden once the danger of frost has passed.

• Seed depth - 20mm
• Plant spacing - 90cm
• Soil germination temperature - 21°C and 35°C
• Plant in - Full Sun