Climbing Courgette Ola Escaladora F1 - Cucurbita pepo

The Ola Escaladora Courgette F1 organic is a climbing courgette ideal for small spaces and well-organised vegetable gardens. Instead of spreading out in wide clumps, it develops long stems that climb up a trellis, wire mesh or fence. They become covered with long, cylindrical, dark green courgettes, shiny, with firm yet melting flesh and a very mild flavour. An early and generous variety, well-suited to organic cultivation, it provides regular harvests from June to October. In an urban garden, a raised bed or a large country vegetable garden, this climbing courgette is a good option for harvesting a lot from a small area.

The Ola Escaladora F1 Courgette belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo, from the Cucurbitaceae family, which includes squashes, pumpkins, Red Kuri squashes, patty pan squashes and courgettes. It originates from Mexico and, more broadly, North America, where it was domesticated several millennia ago before being introduced to Europe in the 16th century. It is an annual plant, frost-tender, with rapid growth, cultivated for its edible fruits.

The Ola Escaladora F1 cultivar is a recent selection, created in the Netherlands in breeding programmes conducted entirely in organic agriculture. Compared to classic bush-type courgettes, it is distinguished by its very long stems, capable of reaching 4 to 5 m when trained, which frees up ground space. The plant shows a vigorously spreading habit. The base, quite compact, occupies 80 to 100 cm in width, but the stems are thick lianas, angular, bristly with stiff hairs, furnished with tendrils that coil around their support. Trained on a trellis, the foliage forms a curtain 2 to 3 m high. With sowing in April-May in pots, planted out in warmed soil, you get the first courgettes in June, then regular harvests until October, if you cut the fruits young and often. The flowers, separate male and female on the same plant, are large, bright yellow trumpets, very melliferous, which open mainly in the morning; pollination is ensured by bees and other insects.
The fruits are cylindrical, regular, of a very dark green, with smooth and shiny skin; the average weight of a courgette varies between 200 and 300 g. This F1 hybrid variety does not come true from saved seed: if you harvest the seeds, the offspring will be very variable.

The harvest: Harvest the courgettes very regularly, from June to October, as soon as they reach 15 to 20 cm long, at most 25 cm. Cut them with a sharp knife leaving a small piece of peduncle, preferably in the morning when it is still cool. The more often you pick, the more the plant renews its flowering and prolongs its production; if you let the fruits grow large, they become hollow, the seeds harden and the plant becomes exhausted.

Storage: Courgettes keep for a few days in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator, unwashed, simply wiped, ideally in a paper bag or cloth to avoid excess moisture. For slightly longer storage, they can be kept for 4 to 7 days in a cool place (10 to 12 °C), dry and well-ventilated. They are also very suitable for freezing: cut into slices or cubes, lightly blanched, they retain a good texture for winter soups, stir-fries and gratins.

The gardener's tip: plan from planting a large, well-loosened hole, filled with mature compost, then install a thick mulch that will keep the soil moist and limit weeds. Always water at the base, without wetting the foliage, especially in the late afternoon, and remember to tie the stems onto the support as they grow so that the fruits hang well, which limits deformities and slug attacks. In case of a lack of pollinators, a simple morning visit to gently touch the open flowers or transfer, with your finger, pollen from a male flower to a female flower is often enough to restart fruiting.