courgette plants

chella

My courgette plants are producing the flowers but no courgettes. The yellow flowers get big, and then die and fall off. I have dusted them all with a paintbrush to pollenate but nothing is happening. Am I doing or not doing something or am I impatient. Everyone seems to have courgettes already.

My tomato plants this year are also poor, infact everything is poor usually I grow an abundance of crops but this year I seem to have failed.

cyclonebri1

Inside or outside, my courgettes are nearly over, having fruited well, tomatoes are best ever after a very dodgy start.

chella

they are outside, the plants are massive, just no courgettes?

cyclonebri1

chella wrote: »

they are outside, the plants are massive, just no courgettes?

Ok, as said always grow mine inside, which usually gives more problems.

Massive plants, lush growth?, and no fruit = too much nitrogen in my general rule book.

Tomato feed is good, or any home brew that is well stewed.

Leif

The forum has gone gaga! I can't post properly ...

Leif

The first flowers are male and fall off. Wait a while. I'd post a link but I can't as the forum is screwed.

mavisangelica

You are not alone. Mine have done the same. I had 2 that did form but grew to about 2 inches long and then dies off. Since then I have loads of large flowers that then drop off.

I have also had problems with my tomatoes to a lesser extent, not so many on this year. But noticeably my chillies. I have previously grown them in pots with about 4 or five plants in a pot (I know, I know) in the conservatory and the plants been covered but my pot this year has only produced about 6 chillies which are still well green. I have put them outside in disgust along with my sweet peppers which haven't fared any better.

I am wondering if it is the compost. The last 2 years I have bought the purple bags of compost from B&Q (something like 3 for £10 or £12). I didn't grow any veg last year only flowers which did ok last year and this year.

cyclonebri1

Leif wrote: »

The forum has gone gaga! I can't post properly ...

Don't blame it on the forum, :D


Again in answer to the above post, we all seem to be getting variable years this year. I posted earlier about this being the worst bug year I have experienced, but totally in contrast to the above poster, this has been my best ever tomato and cumber year (under glass)

mavisangelica

Yes my cucumbers did relatively well - especially as they were old seeds found in the back of the shed. And now you have mentioned it, my peppers and chillies, a lot of the leaves are eaten.

Leif

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Don't blame it on the forum, :D

You rotten swine.

Leif

My Sungold tomatoes are rampant, with huge quantities of fruit, my courgette is thriving, my Orange Habenero chillis had a slow start, but they are now covered in flower buds, some flowers and a few young pods. The beetroot have thrived, the young dog's bottom fruit tree has some fruit on, it is a late but bumper year for me ... (famous last words).

Overwatering is another cause of fruit drop, I had almost no courgettes last year, although my neighbour had huge numbers, oddly enough.

Too much nitrogen does sound plausible, especially since you have plenty of green growth. Nitrogen favours vegetative growth over fruiting. I have in the past given away chilli seedlings, and one chap grew a massive plant with no pods, due to overfeeding.

Regarding chillis, they need one pot each, a typical chilli plant really needs a 12" pot, although smaller varieties thrive in smaller pots. Putting more in one pot will simply force them to compete, and you will not get more pods. A lack of pods could be due to over feeding, or too high temperatures causing flower drop, or a lack of pollination. The latter is fixed by shaking them from time to time, or even sticking your pinky into its private bits. I suspect too high temperatures, as my Capsicum chinense, C. baccatum and C. pubescens are doing so well outdoors, indoors would be too much for them this year.