Courgettes - lots of male flowers, hardly any female

kiwimama

Is this normal? I didnt really pay attention last year and had a bumper crop of the yellow variety, am doing the normal green ones this year (BBC Dig In seeds) and have noticed lots of Male flowers and only have one courgette growing.

Actually there are two but one hasnt grown in a week which from experience is not normal for a courgette, last year I had them doubling in size during less time than that!

I have been using tomato plant food once a week on them, should I up this?? It is just Poundland food tho, could be total crap I suppose.

misskool

the first flush of flowers are normally male and then there's a mix after that.

How long have yours been flowering? Were they planted into well prepared soil?

I'd remove the one that isn't growing at all and eat that

savemoney

I use that poundland tomato food, Hoff and its branded make

Mine arent in flower yet I got them from digin growing in grow bags I lost a couple due to cold nights

Glitterati

Mine have only the female ones open (at least I think they are female), but they never really opened fully, then they closed again in less than 1 day! No idea if that's normal or not as I have never grown them before! :-D

bellathecat_2

I am growing my first courgette plants this year. They look impressive, I live in hope.

ausmummy

My dig in ones have been flowering for about a week and a half (male). I now finally have a female flower and a few more female buds. On my biggest one I keep getting more and more female buds so the plant looks a bit more balanced for m&f. Most of them will be about a week until they flower (going by the others). I use poundland tomato feed once a week, or when I remember.

ukbill69

How do you know whats what?, as for some reason I have two plants, both are flowering like mad at the min, but flower dies quickly. Ive now moved them from big pots to the ground, so hope this helps.

Mutantk

Sorry but how do you know what flowers are male and which are female??! I also have the dig-in ones and they aren't as prolific as I'd hoped - a few limp looking flowers and one courgette!

floss2

Look inside the flowers - it's pretty obvious!

tbw

Mutantk wrote: »

Sorry but how do you know what flowers are male and which are female??! I also have the dig-in ones and they aren't as prolific as I'd hoped - a few limp looking flowers and one courgette!

The male flowers are on a long thin stem, the female ones have a much shorter stem and a little 'knobby' swelling at the base of the flower - that grows into a courgette(if you are lucky and the perishing slugs/rabbits etc don't get at it!).

ausmummy

This pic has been on another thred before and it helped me to tell which is which.

http://completegarden.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/courgette-male-female-flower-identification.jpg