Scientific Name: Cucurbita pepo

Common Names: Zucchini 'Ronde de Nice', Zucchini 'Rondo de Nice'

Family: Cucurbitaceae

Origin:

Ronde de Nice is a French heirloom ball zucchini that produces fine flavoured, tender, round, mottled-green fruits. 

Culinary Uses:

Pick Ronde de Nice Zucchinis when young as their skin will becomes tougher if left to grow too large.  The fruits are excellent when cut into wedges and sautéed in stir fries and other dishes.  Ronde de Nice Zucchinis can also be eaten raw with dips or mixed into salads with other vegetables.  Young Zucchini shoots and leaves are edible but are best cooked as a green vegetable as they'll be more tender.  Zucchini flowers can be eaten and are commonly stuffed with fillings and pan fried or baked.

Companion Planting:

It is a good idea to grow marigolds around your Zucchini plants as their scent can help to repel squash bugs and other insect pests.

Growing Tips:

Zucchini Ronde de Nice will grow best when planted in a full sun location but it will also tolerate partial shade, although fruit production may be decreased.  Zucchini requires a free draining soil, plant Zucchini in raised garden beds if your natural soil is too compacted or heavy with clay.  Zucchini can be a heavy feeder so be sure to dig lots of organic matter including well-rotted animal manures, worm castings or compost through your soil prior to sowing.  Incorporating lots of organic matter will help to improve your soil structure, provide nutrients and encourage worms and beneficial micro-organisms to take up residence in your soil.  Apply a complete organic liquid fertiliser, worm juice or compost tea to your Zucchini plants every few weeks until your plants are fully grown.  Do not fertilise your Zucchini plants once they have fully grown or they'll continue to grow excess leaves at the expense of fruit production.  Zucchini plants have separate male and female flowers, you may need to hand pollinate your female flowers by taking a male flower, removing the petals and rubbing the pollen from the anthers onto the central stigma of the female flowers.  The female flowers are easy to tell apart from the males as they'll have a small, round undeveloped fruit on the stalk just below the flower itself.  Pick Ronde de Nice Zucchinis regularly to encourage additional flowers to form.  Spread sugar cane mulch around your Zucchini plants to keep their roots cool, retain moisture and suppress weed growth.  Avoid wetting the leaves of Zucchini plants as they can be susceptible to powdery mildew.  If you see any black and yellow ladybirds on your Zucchini plants don't remove them as these will feed on the powdery mildew filaments and spores helping to control it.

When To Sow:

In cool and mountainous areas of Australia sow Zucchini seeds from October to December.  In temperate regions of Australia sow Zucchini seeds from September to January.  In the subtropics sow Zucchini seeds anytime from July to March.  In tropical regions of Australia sow Zucchini seeds anytime from March to October.

How To Sow:

Sow Zucchini seeds 2cm deep spacing plants about 60cm apart to give them plenty of room to grow.

Germination Time:

Most Ronde de Nice Zucchini seedlings will emerge within 7 to 13 days after sowing the seeds.

Time To Harvest:

Ronde de Nice Zucchini takes between 7 to 9 weeks to start producing fruits when grown under ideal conditions.