Courgette 'Atena Polka' F1 | The Big Veg

Name: Courgette 'Atena Polka' F1 | The Big Veg
Brand: Laura Florals
SKU: CAP006
Price: 25.99 GBP
Availability: InStock

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Courgette 'Atena Polka' F1 | The Big Veg

£25.99

The courgette that shows up in gold.

Most courgettes are green and get on with it. This one turns up bright, glossy yellow — same easy plant, same great flavour, twice the swagger on the plate.

'Atena Polka' is a reliable, prolific golden yellow courgette that grows as a bush (not a sprawling vine), so it's a tidy, willing thing to grow and a brilliant one to start with.

Give it sun, food and water and it'll keep the kitchen busy from midsummer onwards — courgettes are famously generous once they get going. Pick them small and often and they just keep coming.

Here's the honest bit: a courgette is not a windowsill plant. It's a big, hungry, thirsty thing that wants a large container (proper tub-sized, with drainage holes) or a spot in the ground, in full sun and sheltered from strong wind.

No garden? A sunny balcony or doorstep with a big pot will do the job. But cramming it onto a shelf indoors won't — and we'd rather tell you that now.

What's in your kit

Golden courgette seeds — 'Atena Polka' F1
Seaweed meal — a gentle all-rounder that feeds the soil and hands your plant a spread of trace nutrients
Wool pellets — hold moisture in the compost (courgettes drink a lot)
Comfrey pellets — slow-release potassium, exactly the nutrient a fruiting courgette wants. It's a greedy plant, though, so top up with a tomato-type (high-potassium) feed every couple of weeks once it's cropping
A plain-English grow guide — no jargon, no gatekeeping

What's not in the box (on purpose):
No plastic planter and no bag of compost. You supply a big pot or upcycled container (a drilled bucket, a crate, a builder's tub - not one that's held paint, for edibles) and your own peat-free compost. It keeps the kit light, cheaper to post, and genuinely low-waste.

Why choose this grow kit?

One generous plant can keep a kitchen busy all summer
Pick small and often — the more you pick, the more it makes
Beginner-friendly: no garden needed, just one big pot in a sunny spot
Plastic-free — and posted plastic-free too
Every kit funds living wage jobs and horticultural training in Ayrshire

The bit that matters most

Every Grow Kit funds living wage jobs and horticultural training right here in Ayrshire, for people overcoming homelessness. So your courgettes do a bit more than feed you.

Ships plastic-free to mainland Great Britain.

Gardening, minus the gatekeeping.

Have a grow, Laura x

FAQs

Is this courgette grow kit suitable for beginners?
Yes — courgettes are generous and easy once they're growing, which makes them a rewarding first crop. No garden needed; one happy plant in a big pot can keep a kitchen busy all summer.

Can I grow a courgette in a pot or container?
Yes — grow one plant per large container, at least 30–35cm (12–14in) across and deep, with drainage holes, in a sunny, sheltered spot. A big upcycled tub or bucket is ideal.

What do I need to supply myself?
Just peat-free compost and one large container with drainage holes. The kit provides the seeds, natural soil feeds (seaweed meal, wool pellets and comfrey pellets) and a plain-English grow guide.

Is the packaging plastic-free?
Yes — the kit is plastic-free, and we post it plastic-free too.

Where do you deliver?
We ship across mainland Great Britain. We can't post seeds or planting material to Northern Ireland — that's a Royal Mail restriction on sending seeds, not our choice.

Grow Guide

Courgettes are easy once they're up — the whole game is getting them germinated, and that's all about warmth.

How to sow: one seed per small (8cm/3in) pot, placed on its edge about 1cm (½in) deep. Standing the seed on its edge is an old courgette-grower's trick — it helps the seed shed water and rot less.

The make-or-break bit is warmth. The seed needs steady soil warmth of at least 18°C (65°F) to germinate, and honestly a little more is better. A cold windowsill won't do it — a heated propagator, a warm airing cupboard, or the warmest room in the house will. Keep the compost moist while you wait; seedlings show in 3–10 days.

When: sow from late March into April. Up north, don't rush it — a slightly later start into warm compost beats an early one that sulks in the cold.

Once the risk of frost has passed, courgette seeds can be sown directly into their large outdoor container.

Courgettes are hungry, thirsty plants — that's why the kit is built the way it is. The trick is using each part at the right moment.

Watering: copiously, and around the base rather than over the leaves (wet leaves invite mildew). Container plants dry out fast, so check daily in warm weather.

Wool pellets — when you plant out. Once your courgette's in its final pot, scatter the wool in a ring around the base, on the surface (not mixed in). It slows the compost drying — which a thirsty courgette loves — and deters slugs from a tender young plant. Keep it a loose ring, off the stem; wool swells when wet.

Comfrey and seaweed — from about 6 weeks. Fresh compost feeds the plant for its first month or so, so there's no need to feed at planting. From around 6 weeks — just as it starts flowering and setting fruit — sprinkle the comfrey and seaweed over the surface around the base and water in. The comfrey's a slow-release hit of potassium, exactly what a fruiting courgette wants. Once it starts fruiting it's a hungry plant, so keep feeding it — a sprinkle of the comfrey from your kit around the base every couple of weeks, watered in. There's enough in your kit to keep it cropping right through the season. Feed earlier only if growth looks pale.

First courgettes come roughly 50–60 days from sowing — so expect to start picking from around July, right through into October.

Pick them small: around 10–15cm (4–6in) long. Small and often is the whole secret — the more you pick, the more the plant makes. Leave one to swell into a marrow and it'll slow the whole plant down.

Once it's going, check every couple of days. Courgettes are famously generous — one happy plant can keep a kitchen busy all summer. There's real joy in wandering out and spotting one that wasn't there yesterday, cooked that same evening — dinner you grew, on repeat.

None of these mean you've failed — it's just a courgette telling you something.

Seeds not coming up? Almost always temperature. Below 18°C (65°F) they just sit and sulk — or rot. Move them somewhere warmer and be patient.
Tall, floppy seedlings? They're reaching for light. Give them the brightest spot you have, and keep them a touch cooler once they're up.
Lots of flowers but no courgettes? Early flowers are often all male — that's normal. Once female flowers appear (the ones with a tiny courgette behind them) and get pollinated, fruit follows. No bees about? Dab pollen from a male flower into a female one with a soft brush — congratulations, you're the pollinator now.
White, dusty leaves (powdery mildew)? Common late in the season. Water at the base not over the leaves, keep the plant weed-free for good airflow, and don't let the roots dry right out.
Baby courgettes rotting at the tip? Usually patchy watering or a pollination hiccup. Keep the compost evenly moist and it should settle.

New to this? Here's what's true for every kit we sell.

Compost — you supply your own peat-free compost. Any good bag will do. We don't include it (it's heavy, and you may already have some).

Container — almost anything with drainage holes works: an upcycled bucket, a trough, a big pot. No holes means waterlogged roots, so make some if there aren't any. We don't send a planter on purpose — growing in what you've already got is cheaper and greener.

Light — most things want a bright spot: a sunny windowsill, or outside once the weather's kind. Each guide tells you what that plant prefers.

Gardening, minus the gatekeeping. If a step ever reads like jargon, that's on us, not you.

Every Laura Florals kit is built around what your plant actually needs.

Your courgette kit contains:

Your Courgette 'Atena Polka' F1 seeds
Seaweed meal — a gentle, slow all-rounder that feeds the soil and hands the plant a spread of trace nutrients
Wool pellets — scatter round the base to hold moisture and keep slugs off
Comfrey pellets — potassium-rich, for a hungry, fruiting crop
A plain-English grow guide

What you supply: peat-free compost, and one big container (at least 30–40cm / 12–16in across and deep) with drainage holes — an upcycled bucket or tub is perfect.

Everything ships plastic-free. We can only post seeds and planting material to mainland Great Britain — sorry, Northern Ireland, that's a Royal Mail rule, not ours.

We will work quickly to ship your order as soon as possible. Once your order has shipped, you will receive an email with further information. Delivery times vary depending on your location.

Our goal is for every customer to be totally satisfied with their purchase. If this isn't the case, let us know and we'll do our best to work with you to make it right.