Courgettes

Pixiechic

My courgette seeds have started to germinate and all that the packet says is to 'gradually accustom plants to outside conditions'. I suspect that I will need to do this with all my inside sown seeds to get used to outdoors.

What does that mean though? What size do they need to have grown to to be ready for the outdoors? How long should they be outside for whilst getting 'accustom' and for how long before I plant them?

Is there anything I need to do to prep soil for them before they go in?

How many courgettes does a courgette plant produce, roughly?

Leif

What it means is that plants grown indoors have soft tissues, and if you put them outside, they will suffer damage from wind, and cold, and they may die. So you gradually acclimatise them. A coldframe is a good way to do that. By opening the roof, you expose the seedlings to some wind, but not the full force. The tissues are exposed to some stress, and become tougher, but not so much stress that it causes damage. Make sure the coldframe is held down, otherwise the wind will take it.

I think a couple of weeks is enough to harden them. Courgettes, squash and tomatoes seem fine in a coldframe, even when the outside gets a light frost. Mine have been outside in a coldframe for several weeks. I am in the South by the way. Chillis are more sensitive, and are best kept indoors until the outdoor nighttime temperatures are well above freezing.

A courgette plant can produce loads of fruits, they are very productive. My neighbours outdoor courgette produced fruits into late autumn. Mine were done in by the wind and rain.

Pixiechic

Thank you!

I have a good place that I can put them from your description and I will keep the lid open.

I will wait until they get a little bigger though. So I'm guessing that several weeks is a month in the cold frame and then I can plant them out, I'm in the south too.

Two weeks in cold frame, thanks.

Do you feed your courgettes when they are planted?

My chilli seeds have been in my propagator for ages but not germinating

Leif

Yes courgettes need regular feeding, once a week according to one of my books, but I don't do it precisely. I just use tomato feed, given that I use it anyway on tomatoes and chillis. You can also put some slow release blood fish and bone on the soil when planting.

It is getting a bit late for chillis. Capsicum annuum should germinate in one to two weeks at ~24C, fresh seeds can appear in 5 days, although one year I had some Jalapeno seeds from two different big name companies and both lots of seeds failed. Some C. chinense can take a lot longer than 2 weeks. Capsicum are a bit finicky. I think you'd do well to pick up a plant from a garden centre. Last year many of my plants failed, so I bought a Capsicum baccatum from a local garden centre, and it was covered in pods. It is now covered in green pods, waiting to ripen. Sadly I don't really like the flavour. But I did discover that C. baccatum is semi-hardy, surviving some light frosts. C. pubescens is even hardier. Sorry, I'm on a pet subject, I'll stop here.

Pixiechic

Thank you

I have tomatoe feed, I'm not growing tomatoes this year although mine did quite well last year. The only time I've ever enjoyed a raw tomatoe was in Morocco.

I was on my second try of chillis this year and nothing! I'd like to blame it on the large seed corporation

I've been looking into the difference between f1 seeds and hybrids and mainly why my attempts to save seeds and grow again from a tomato I liked didn't work last year. Fascinating stuff

Pixiechic

More reading so more questions:

Is a marrow an overgrown courgette?

I love stuffed marrows. Could I have one courgette plant that I leave longer to grow marrows or will that drain the plant?

Davesnave

Pixiechic wrote: »

More reading so more questions:

Is a marrow an overgrown courgette?

I love stuffed marrows. Could I have one courgette plant that I leave longer to grow marrows or will that drain the plant?

Yes, you can turn courgettes into marrows without being Hermione Granger, just by leaving one to grow extra big.

In fact, my courgettes always manage this by themselves, as I always miss a few when picking.

Leif

Marrows and courgettes are varieties of the same plant. One is bred to produce a small number of fruits, which you leave to grow big, the other is bred to produce a large number of fruits, which are picked small.

Pixiechic

Thank you

I will have one plant that I will keep for marrows as they will be nice stuffed!

Maybe I would need to feed the marrow one a bit more.

Mollymoonlight

Leif wrote: »

I think a couple of weeks is enough to harden them. Courgettes, squash and tomatoes seem fine in a coldframe, even when the outside gets a light frost. Mine have been outside in a coldframe for several weeks. I am in the South by the way.

Lucky you Leif, I've had to bring my tomatoes and cucumbers back indoors because I was starting to lose them in the growhouse. We're not getting temperatures much above 10 just now, I've put the heating back on!

rolstherat

I had grown my courgette (and pumpkin plants) in the greenhouse, spent a week hardening them off, and now they have been mostly killed by frost!

Be warned, they are sensitive!