Our 2025 EFN seed catalogue is now live! Featuring over 130 new varieties and over 640 total varieties, sourced from over 50 different growers from across the country. Huge thanks to all of our growers, volunteers, and to our stellar seed-house team in Minnesota! Each of you make this work possible.

'Cocozelle' Zucchini

'Cocozelle' Zucchini

$3.75 Sale

Cucurbita pepo

Origin: Naples, Italy

Improvement status: Cultivar

Seeds per packet: ~20

Germination tested 12/2022: 83%

Life cycle: Annual

Originally known as Cocozella di Napoli, Cocozelle is a classic Italian heirloom zucchini from 1800s Naples. It resembles the better-known 'Costata Romanesco' variety, with its distinctive striped ribbing, but Cocozelle is more tender and just as well-flavored, its less-defined ribbing giving it something of a smoothed-out quality. It retains characteristics of "baby" zucchini in terms of taste and texture until much larger than other varieties. The plant has a bush habit, so it takes up a fraction of garden space compared to the vining squash we offer. This variety also boasts well-sized flowers, great for stuffing, frying, or adding a spash of yellow-orange color to your favorite soup, pasta, or risotto. Harvest young squash before they get too big for maximum production.

Photo credit: By nociveglia, downloaded under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.