SPERLI Zucchini Eight Ball F1

An F1 courgette whose name nods to the billiard ball: Eight Ball flowers a bright yellow and bears green fruit from July to October.

The story

Origins & history

Courgettes belong to the species Cucurbita pepo, which was taken into cultivation in Mexico around 10,000 years ago – making it one of the earliest crops of the Americas. The garden squash reached Europe in the 16th century. The courgette as we know it arose in Italy; its Italian name zucchini is the diminutive of ‘zucca’, squash.

Uses

A plant for a sunny spot with room to spread: 80 cm in every direction. The fruits are picked young. The large yellow flowers are edible too and in Italy are often stuffed and fried.

Meaning

The name Eight Ball comes from pool, where the black eight is the last ball and decides the game. The vegetable garden is more relaxed: here the winner is whoever harvests in time.

A thought for giving

A courgette seems to grow from small to large overnight. Anyone who loves it calls by every day – here, attention is the real gardening.

At a glance

• Contents: 1 packet for approx. 9 plants
• Botanical name: Cucurbita pepo
• Life cycle: annual
• Position: sunny
• Sow indoors: March–May
• Sow outdoors: May–June
• Harvest: July–October
• Sowing depth: 2–3 cm
• Germination temperature: 20–24 °C
• Germination time: 7–14 days
• Plant spacing: 80 cm
• Row spacing: 80 cm
• Seed type: loose seed
• F1 hybrid: yes

How to sow

1. Sow indoors from March to May: place seeds 2–3 cm deep in Jiffy pots (Jiffy-Quelltöpfe).
2. At 20–24 °C the seeds germinate in 7–14 days.
3. Direct sowing outdoors is possible in May and June.
4. Plant in full sun, 80 cm apart within and between rows, ideally in courgette and pumpkin compost (Zucchini- & Kürbis-Erde).

Delivery time: 1–2 weeks. Manufacturer: SPERLI GmbH. Seeds, not a plant – the image shows the original packet.

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