Courgettes taking over polytunnel. Can I cut off some leaves?

jaqui59

Hi everyone ... My 3 courgette plants are taking over my polytunnel, and my cucumbers and onions are shrouded in darkness and have stopped growing/producing ....

Tell me, can you cut leaves off the courgettes without causing any problem with the crop. I wouldnt need to take many off, just a few particular offenders.

Ive learnt my lesson lol ... Next year, im going to plant one courgette plant in there!!

olly300

I don't know where you are in the country but the courgette plants I've planted outdoors have done well for the past two years.

I don't know about cutting leaves off though.

annie123

I always end up removing a few leaves over the season, making sure I leave 3 leaves and I still get millions of courgettes, well, OK, that's bit of an exaggeration but only just!

bubbs

1ST time growing courgettes and i have one about 6 inches big do i pick now? and do i pull it off or cut it please?
Thanks

babyshoes

bubbs wrote: »

1ST time growing courgettes and i have one about 6 inches big do i pick now? and do i pull it off or cut it please?
Thanks

Best to cut it off if you want it to keep in the fridge - pulling tends to dammage the fruit itself so it doesn't last. We found an old craft knife works well if they are at an awkward angle.

You can pick it now if you like, or let it grow for another day or two. Don't leave it too long though, you WILL end up with marrows!

I believe courgettes crop best if you keep harvesting, so don't worry that you won't get any more - soon you should have more than you can keep up with!

As for the original post - courgettes are pretty hardy, I am sure removing a few leaves will be fine as long as there are enough others left on.

Remember to feed your courgettes (with tomato feed or similar) regularly once they start cropping, they are greedy bu99ers!

bubbs

Thnakyou, i have loads of flowers on them so should be good!!

diluvsdiscounts

I have had to remove a couple of leaves because they grew so big we couldn't get through the gate!

Lotus-eater

As well as cutting them off, you can just use sticks to hold the leaves to the side, I do that alot.

jaxx46

Quick question... I have two courgette plants (all green bush) that I was expecting to grow quite big, however the've stayed quite small but have loads of flowers and at the last count 10 yes 10 baby courgettes! I also gave two to my sil one of which died the remaining plant is massive but has no sign of any flowers or fruit! any idea why hers should be so different? is it because it's growing solo?

olly300

jaxx46 wrote: »

Quick question... I have two courgette plants (all green bush) that I was expecting to grow quite big, however the've stayed quite small but have loads of flowers and at the last count 10 yes 10 baby courgettes! I also gave two to my sil one of which died the remaining plant is massive but has no sign of any flowers or fruit! any idea why hers should be so different? is it because it's growing solo?

Feed it.

Last year the courgette plant I planted after the first fruits wasn't fruiting so I started feeding it and then it went mad.

They are greedy feeders and like being fed regularly either once a week or once a fortnight.

chog24

I'm fairly new to growing vegetables but the 3 courgettes we've grown this year have been so massive they've swamped nearby plants and we've had to cut off some of the leaves. We've taken the older leaves, cutting them close to the main stem and leaving the newer, younger, smaller leaves and it seems not to have diminished the amount of fruit we're getting. Neither does it seem to have damaged the plant and the cuts seal up within a few days. We're currently not feeding them (though, I will now I've read it's important!)