Eden Seeds
Gourd Cucuzza Seeds
$3.90
Unit price perLagenaria siceraria
Cucuzza is a remarkable edible form of bottle gourd producing exceptionally long, slender fruits with smooth, pale green skin. Also known as Italian Edible Gourd, Italian Squash and New Guinea Butter Bean, the vigorous vines can produce fruits approaching 1 m long if allowed to mature.
Despite often being treated like a zucchini in the kitchen, Cucuzza is actually a bottle gourd rather than a squash. For eating, harvest the fruits young, ideally from around 15 cm while the skin is tender and the flesh soft. At this stage they have a mild, delicate flavour and can be sautéed, fried, grilled, added to soups and stews or cooked anywhere you might ordinarily use zucchini.
Cucuzza is particularly associated with southern Italian and Sicilian cooking, where both the young fruits and tender growing tips are traditionally eaten. In Sicily the long gourds are known as cucuzza, while the tender shoots and leaves, known as tenerumi, are used in soups, pasta dishes and other summer cooking.
If fruits are allowed to grow larger, cut them lengthways and remove the developing seeds before cooking. Fully mature fruits eventually develop the hard shell characteristic of Lagenaria siceraria, a species that has been cultivated since ancient times for both food and practical uses. Mature bottle gourds have historically been dried and fashioned into containers, utensils and other household objects in cultures around the world.
Plants are extremely vigorous annual vines and require plenty of room. A strong trellis or arbour is ideal, allowing the long fruits to hang freely and develop straighter. They thrive in the same warm, fertile conditions as pumpkins and squash.
Seed count: approximately 3–4 seeds/g
Approximately 13 seeds per packet
When to Plant (Australia)
Tropics: Spring to autumn
Subtropics: Spring to summer
Mild climates: Spring after frost to early summer
Cold climates: Spring after the last frost
Planting / Sowing
Sow directly into warm soil after all danger of frost, approximately 20–30 mm deep. Space plants approximately 80–120 cm apart in full sun with fertile, well-drained soil.
Provide a very sturdy trellis, fence or arbour capable of supporting the vigorous vines and developing fruits. Keep plants consistently watered during flowering and fruit development and provide generous organic matter and nutrition throughout the growing season.
For zucchini-style use, harvest fruits young and tender from around 15 cm long. Older fruits can still be eaten while the flesh remains tender, but may need peeling and the developing seeds removed. Regular harvesting encourages continued fruit production.
Maturity: approximately 55–80 days.
Due to quarantine restrictions, TAS has an 800g limit per each seed variety and WA has a 10,000 seeds limit per variety.
Gourd Cucuzza Seeds
$3.90
Unit price per
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Lagenaria siceraria
Cucuzza is a remarkable edible form of bottle gourd producing exceptionally long, slender fruits with smooth, pale green skin. Also known as Italian Edible Gourd, Italian Squash and New Guinea Butter Bean, the vigorous vines can produce fruits approaching 1 m long if allowed to mature.
Despite often being treated like a zucchini in the kitchen, Cucuzza is actually a bottle gourd rather than a squash. For eating, harvest the fruits young, ideally from around 15 cm while the skin is tender and the flesh soft. At this stage they have a mild, delicate flavour and can be sautéed, fried, grilled, added to soups and stews or cooked anywhere you might ordinarily use zucchini.
Cucuzza is particularly associated with southern Italian and Sicilian cooking, where both the young fruits and tender growing tips are traditionally eaten. In Sicily the long gourds are known as cucuzza, while the tender shoots and leaves, known as tenerumi, are used in soups, pasta dishes and other summer cooking.
If fruits are allowed to grow larger, cut them lengthways and remove the developing seeds before cooking. Fully mature fruits eventually develop the hard shell characteristic of Lagenaria siceraria, a species that has been cultivated since ancient times for both food and practical uses. Mature bottle gourds have historically been dried and fashioned into containers, utensils and other household objects in cultures around the world.
Plants are extremely vigorous annual vines and require plenty of room. A strong trellis or arbour is ideal, allowing the long fruits to hang freely and develop straighter. They thrive in the same warm, fertile conditions as pumpkins and squash.
Seed count: approximately 3–4 seeds/g
Approximately 13 seeds per packet
When to Plant (Australia)
Tropics: Spring to autumn
Subtropics: Spring to summer
Mild climates: Spring after frost to early summer
Cold climates: Spring after the last frost
Planting / Sowing
Sow directly into warm soil after all danger of frost, approximately 20–30 mm deep. Space plants approximately 80–120 cm apart in full sun with fertile, well-drained soil.
Provide a very sturdy trellis, fence or arbour capable of supporting the vigorous vines and developing fruits. Keep plants consistently watered during flowering and fruit development and provide generous organic matter and nutrition throughout the growing season.
For zucchini-style use, harvest fruits young and tender from around 15 cm long. Older fruits can still be eaten while the flesh remains tender, but may need peeling and the developing seeds removed. Regular harvesting encourages continued fruit production.
Maturity: approximately 55–80 days.
Due to quarantine restrictions, TAS has an 800g limit per each seed variety and WA has a 10,000 seeds limit per variety.
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