Ronde de Nice courgette: pick it at 8 cm and stuff it
At the size of a big tennis ball, it can be stuffed whole. Pick it every two or three days and the plant gives until the end of summer.
Pick your Ronde de Nice courgette young, at 7 or 8 cm across, the size of a big tennis ball. At that stage, its skin is tender and it can be stuffed whole. Go round every two or three days and the plant keeps giving until the end of summer. A forgotten fruit can pass a kilo. It then has little left of a tender courgette.
A round courgette, picked small
The Ronde de Nice is a courgette with round, light green fruit, on a bushy plant that does not trail. Sativa, the Swiss seed company that multiplies it under the ProSpecieRara label, describes it this way. La Semence Bio says it comes from the south of France.
| According to the sources | |
|---|---|
| Fruit | Round, light green (Sativa) |
| To pick | Young, the size of a tennis ball (Sativa); 8 to 9 cm across, 150 to 350 g (La Semence Bio) |
| At full size | 500 g to 1.5 kg (Sativa) |
| Plant | Bushy (Sativa) |
| Keeping | Limited (Sativa) |
An official tennis ball measures from 6.54 to 6.86 cm across. So the two sources place picking between 7 and 9 cm. Aim for 7 to 8 cm. The fruit is then big enough to stuff and young enough to stay tender.
Why pick it at 8 cm
There are three reasons, two of them measured.
Quality drops fast. A study carried out in India on standard courgettes had tasters try fruit picked at different ages. The panel preferred those from 9 to 12 days after flowering. Beyond 15 days, the skin hardens and the seeds can be felt. You no longer eat them raw. These figures apply to another climate and to long courgettes. Above all, keep the order of magnitude. A few days are enough to go from tender to hard.
The plant produces for longer. The RHS, the British horticultural society, advises picking often, while the fruit is small, to extend the harvest.
A medium fruit keeps better than a very small one. A study published in 2019 compared round squashes picked at 3, 7 and 9 cm across. In the fridge, at 5 °C, they stayed good for 12, 19 and 26 days. The smallest dried out and spoiled faster. On the other hand, they held twice as many antioxidant compounds. This squash, the zapallito, is a cousin. It is not the same species as the Ronde de Nice.
Stuffing it
Its round shape is made for it. La Semence Bio advises it stuffed, after hollowing it out.
A courgette picked at 7 or 8 cm makes one portion. If you have too many at once, the guide Too many courgettes gives other ways to eat and keep them.
Sowing and planting it
The courgette fears the cold. The RHS sows it in the warm in April or early May, one seed per 7.5 cm pot. The seed is laid on its edge, 1.3 cm deep. It comes up at 18 to 21 °C. For a sowing in the ground, the RHS waits for late May or early June, when the soil has warmed. It puts two or three seeds every 90 cm, 2.5 cm deep, then keeps the finest plant.
Allow for space. The RHS spaces plants at least 90 cm apart, about one square metre per plant. For the Ronde de Nice, Sativa gives 75 cm in the row and 1 m between rows. In a container, the RHS asks for at least 45 cm across. The guide Courgettes: two plants are enough says how many plants to grow and how to avoid powdery mildew.
Having it until September
In fine weather, the RHS counts three or four fruits a week per plant. At that rate, eight weeks of fine weather give 24 to 32 fruits per plant. It is not a promise. A cool summer gives fewer. Three moves keep the plant productive.
- Pick every two or three days. The RHS picks often and small to extend the harvest.
- Water at the base, regularly. The RHS keeps the soil evenly moist and mulches at least 5 cm deep, without touching the stem. Do not wet the leaves. Water on the foliage favours fungi such as powdery mildew.
- Remove damaged leaves. When the white felt of powdery mildew arrives in late summer, the RHS removes the affected leaves. The fruit gets the sun and picking becomes easier. The guide Powdery mildew says how to really slow it down.
In a container, the RHS adds a high-potash liquid fertiliser every 10 to 14 days, as soon as the first fruits swell. Rich ground generally does without.
Male flowers can be picked too, without reducing the harvest (RHS). If the small fruit rot at the tip, the guide Courgettes with no fruit or that rot at the tip explains the role of pollination.
The app calculates sowing and planting dates for your garden. Start here.
FAQ
What size to pick the Ronde de Nice courgette?
Young, the size of a tennis ball for Sativa, 8 to 9 cm across for La Semence Bio. Aim for 7 to 8 cm. It stays tender and can be stuffed whole.
How long after the flower can you pick it?
No source gives it for the Ronde de Nice. For standard courgettes, an Indian study puts the preferred stage at 9 to 12 days after flowering. Go by the diameter instead.
How many fruits does a plant give?
Three or four a week in fine weather, according to the RHS. The summer and how regularly you pick make this figure vary.
Can you grow it in a container?
Yes, in a container at least 45 cm across (RHS). Water often, sometimes every day in summer. Feed every 10 to 14 days as soon as the fruit swells.
How long does it keep?
Not long, according to Sativa. In one study, a round squash picked at 7 cm lasted 19 days kept cool, at 5 °C.
Photo: Maja Dumat, Wikimedia Commons, licence CC BY 2.0
Sources
- Sativa Rheinau, fiche De Nice à fruit rond, courgette (label ProSpecieRara : plante buissonnante, fruits ronds vert clair à cueillir jeunes, de la taille d'une balle de tennis, 500 g à 1,5 kg à pleine taille, conservation limitée, écartements)
- La Semence Bio, graines de courgette ronde Ronde de Nice (sud de la France, 8 à 9 cm de diamètre cueillie jeune, 150 à 350 g, à farcir après l'avoir évidée)
- RHS (Royal Horticultural Society), Courgettes: grow your own (semis, 18 à 21 °C, 90 cm entre les pieds, arrosage au pied, trois ou quatre fruits par semaine et par pied, cueillette régulière, oïdium)
- Bahadur A., Krishna H., Singh S. et Singh J., Summer squash: adding savour to salad platter, Indian Horticulture, septembre et octobre 2020 (fruits les meilleurs de 9 à 12 jours après la floraison, plus consommables crus au-delà de 15 jours)
- Massolo J. F. et al., Maturity at harvest and postharvest quality of summer squash, Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira 54, 2019 (courge ronde zapallito cueillie à 3, 7 et 9 cm : conservation de 12, 19 et 26 jours à 5 °C)
- Wikipedia, Tennis ball (diamètre officiel de la Fédération internationale de tennis : 6,54 à 6,86 cm)
He gardens in Belgium and tries out in his own vegetable patch what the app recommends. His articles always start from a source you can check and a step you can take this weekend.
