Courgettes - what to expect

xxvickixx

I wondered if any of you seasoned veg growers would know what stage my plants are at and when I can expect to get anything worth eating...

I have several courgette plants, some are trailing along the floor and some are where I planted them but bigger. All have had some big yellow flowers which have now gone brown and wilted. There are some small cougettes about the size of cherry tomatoes which have been there for weeks but don't seem to be getting bigger or darker. There are quite a few of these small ones and also new buds? seem to be growing but not turning into flowers.

I have been watering them well daily and there seems to be no sign of drying out, rotting or being eaten by something.

Does this all sound normal or should I be doing something to help them along. I have not been snipping at it or interfering in any way but I can't wait any longer to eat them all up!

Thanks in advance for your help (I am about to post about the tomatoes too)

Vicki.

misskool

Are these indoors or outdoors? Could be they are not being pollinated and not growing any bigger?

xxvickixx

Hi, yes they are outdoors. I did have in my head some memory of something to do with polinating but we do have a lot of bees around which I thought might have done that. how would I know, can I do it myself with a brush and if so how would I do it, all the flowers have gone now too.

tomfun

Courgettes are Very heavy feeders, i planted 1 plant with a bag of manure dug in and i`m getting a courgette every couple of days,there out or control at the moment ,if i`m away for a few days i come back to hugh overgrown marrows ,without any watering also,

xxvickixx

Do I need to add feed? The soil in our veg patch is the normal ground, plus we mixed in quite a lot of compost, some sharp sand and some nice topsoil. I did scatter some vegetable food pellets a while ago but that as a one off as I got it in the sale and thought I'd throw some in for luck!

rosie383

Try to pollinate them yourself, as I did after advice on another thread. we are now getting lovely courgettes.
Here is the link to the thread
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1776851

Hope it works for you too!

xxvickixx

Thanks, I will keep my eyes peeled for any new flowers and then will try and get them to mate!

sammyjammy

I feed my courgettes the same as my tomatoes once a week. Depending on how dry it is where you are you may need to give them a little water as well even if they are planted in the ground. You should be getting so many you cannot eat them fast enough!

MunnyBoiler

I have lost count of how many different dishes involving courgettes we have cooked so far this year!!! Growing like mad and they are turning into marrows, can't eat them quick enough.

Have to admit, I don't feed them at all once they are in the ground. However I treated the veg patch they are in to lashings and lashings of lovely home made compost including lots of chicken manure, thanks to my girls who provide me with a constant supply....

Primrose

For some unknown reason I often find that the first few fruit on my courgette plants fail to develop but turn brown and rot and I've never really figures out why this is because they're in good manured soil. However, as long as they're well watered, once they take off they usually go beserk. Just pick the courgettes when they're very small - no longer than 5 inches long, and this will encourage the plant to keep fruiting. Once September arrives, the cooler weather at night will be a hazard and to preserve their life it's a good idea to cover them with some protective fleece or an old net curtain overnight.

misskool

I didn't have a courgette glut

Mine are in pots thought as the slugs would have a feast if they were in the ground!