Courgette Ola Gabriella F1 - Cucurbita pepo

The Ola Gabriella F1 Yellow Courgette is an F1 hybrid variety offered here as AB-certified organic seeds. It has been selected for its regular production of bright yellow fruits, both decorative and flavoursome. This is a parthenocarpic variety that produces fruit even in the absence of pollinators, including under cover or in cool weather. Non-running, compact, and easy to manage, it takes up little space in the vegetable garden.

Botanically, Ola Gabriella F1 belongs to the species Cucurbita pepo, in the Cucurbitaceae family. This species includes courgettes, many squashes, colocynths, pumpkins, patty pan squashes, and turban squashes, depending on the group. It originates from southern Mexico and northern Central America, where it has been cultivated for several millennia, before being spread throughout the northern hemisphere after the Age of Discovery. C. pepo is an annual plant, with large rough leaves and angular, hollow stems covered with more or less prickly bristles.
Ola Gabriella F1 is a recent introduction from the Dutch breeder De Bolster, specialising in organic seeds, and is part of a small "family" of Ola courgettes (Ola Escaladora, climbing; Ola Redonda, round-fruited). An F1 hybrid, it results from controlled cross-breeding, and seeds harvested from the garden will not come true.
The plant has a distinctly bushy, non-running habit. A mature plant reaches 40 to 60 cm in height with a spread of 80 cm to 1 m. The foliage is ample, medium green, deeply lobed, forming a dense clump that covers the soil well. Fast-growing, this variety is medium to early in maturity, with a regular fruit production: several courgettes develop simultaneously without suddenly becoming oversized, which allows a little flexibility for picking. The flowers, monoecious (separate male and female flowers on the same plant), are large, golden-yellow, funnel-shaped, and very melliferous. The female flowers will produce fruit even if pollination is imperfect, especially early in the season or under a polytunnel.
The fruits are cylindrical, very straight, of a bright yellow, with smooth, thin skin. They are ideally harvested when they reach 20–25 cm in length. Their flesh is tender, of fine texture, mild and slightly sweet, with few seeds at this stage. This is a summer squash, intended to be eaten young.

In the kitchen, courgettes offer many possibilities: sautéed, fried, in gratins, soups, or stuffed. They feature prominently in Mediterranean dishes such as ratatouille, caponata, or couscous.

Harvest: Courgettes are picked immature, with their peduncle. For good storage, the fruits must be handled carefully to avoid cuts or bruising.

Storage: Courgettes, being quite fragile, keep better once cut and frozen.

Our advice: To protect the fruits from soil moisture, place a tile or slate slab under the courgettes. Mulching is useful during summer. To limit the risk of powdery mildew, avoid watering the foliage and flowers. You can associate the Ola Gabriela F1 courgette with a climbing bean ‘Blauhilde’, with purple pods, which will climb up supports and structure the bed. Around the courgettes, plant a border of signet marigold ‘Lemon Gem’ and dwarf nasturtium ‘Empress of India’ which attract beneficial insects and deter certain pests.