Courgettes (Cucurbita pepo) are among the most productive vegetables in the garden: one healthy plant can yield dozens of fruits in a season if they are picked young, at 15–20 cm long. They are frost-tender, so sow indoors in pots in late April or directly outdoors in mid-May, and plant out after the Ice Saints. Each plant needs about one square metre of space, a sunny site and rich soil with plenty of compost. Water generously at the base, as the large leaves lose a lot of moisture, and mulch to keep the soil moist. Courgettes produce separate male and female flowers; when few pollinators are about in cool weather, the small fruits turn yellow and rot, and hand-pollinating with a soft brush helps. Powdery mildew coats the leaves from late summer; wide spacing, watering at the roots and resistant varieties delay it. Harvest every two or three days, as fruits left to grow into marrows slow new production. The flowers are edible too, stuffed or fried.