YOU SAID:
The courgettes were beginning to sprout
INTO JAPANESE
ズッキーニが発芽し始めていた
BACK INTO ENGLISH
Zucchini had begun to germinate
INTO JAPANESE
ズッキーニが発芽を始めていた
BACK INTO ENGLISH
Zucchini had begun sprouting
INTO JAPANESE
ズッキーニが発芽を始めていた
BACK INTO ENGLISH
Zucchini had begun sprouting
That didn't even make that much sense in English.