Courgettes - HELP!!!

MissMoneypenny

andygb wrote: »

Just an update.
I have potted on 20 - yes! 20 - healthy plants, which are now around 6" to 8" high.
They are in the little greenhouses at the moment, but do they like full sun, and how much should I be watering them?
We have a thermometer in our back garden, and it reached 29C yesterday and today!

Well done. They don't like to dry out, but not so much water that the soil goes green.

Mine are still outside in their buckets and the tomatoes and tomatillos are out now too but in pots, so the toes and tillos could come back in my plastic greenhouse if it turns too cold overnight (if I move the yellow wonder strawberry seedlings into the house as they are hogging the greenhouse).

The reason I put my courgette buckets out so early is because one morning I went to bring them out of the greenhouse for their daily sunbathe and away from the intense heat of the greenhouse, but found that a couple of the bigger plants had droopy leaves as they were too hot.

I picked the first courgette today. It was the yellow ball type courgette. The green ball and normal (?) courgettes, have just started to flower.

Cottage_Economy

I have courgette envy.

In the nine years I've been here not one of my courgette plants has ever survived, either in a pot or in the soil.

There is a saying that every gardener has a plant they can't grow and mine is courgette.

mfmaybe

My sort of update is all 5 seedlings are still alive. They got potted on, to a mix of size of pots. I experimented and left 2 on the kitchen windowsill but outside, and 3 inside. The inside ones are by far and away the better ones. I found a slug on the outside ones the first night, so I put slug grit in the pot. So far, those are alive but not flourishing. It's been quite cool up here still. Anyway I've made up my little plastic greenhouse again, so have just put another of the inside ones outside to start to harden it off, and at some point I guess I'll have to brave the actual garden. They aren't going to pollinate inside I expect :rotfl:

Cally_Smart

Thought it was just me ,I can't seem to grow courgettes either,slugs have had every one every year ,including this one (but still time to try again I guess) You can imagine how jealous I was with everybody's gluts of courgettes last year!

ALIBOBSY

I struggled the first year I tried them, but think I planted them out too soon, even with cloches on they never really bounced back and I didn't plant on a mound with plenty of compost and liquid feed later on as I do now.

So far this year had two courgettes and got about 8 on various plants in various stages of growth yay.

I can defo recommend potting on a couple of times so they are bigger plants, the slugs barely touch them and they have flowered/fruited really quickly.

Ali x

sachi

i grow courgettes, i found it worked best to put each plant in a 15 litre bucket and water them real good, they are very thirsty plants. every fortnight i gave them water mixed with tomato plant food. dont let the courgettes grow too big or they will taste awful, and the plant will stop producing. cut them off when they reach 15-18 cm. dice them and fry in garlic butter.....yummy:T

MissMoneypenny

sachi wrote: »

i grow courgettes, i found it worked best to put each plant in a 15 litre bucket and water them real good, they are very thirsty plants. every fortnight i gave them water mixed with tomato plant food. dont let the courgettes grow too big or they will taste awful, and the plant will stop producing. cut them off when they reach 15-18 cm. dice them and fry in garlic butter.....yummy:T

Ditto, except I eat them raw - why spoil the taste:D

andygb

Just a quick update.
I have twelve healthy looking plants in four growbags, and there are definite signs of tiny courgettes appearing on all the plants. I have given six plants away, but that may increase because if all goes to plan then this Summer - "I will be mainly eating courgettes":D

Francesanne

I've never grown ANY veg but after reading O.P. wanted to try my luck with courgette. Have tiny garden and only limited space so thought I'd try to grow one plant in hanging basket. It's my pride and joy and doing really well at the moment. Give it plenty of water plus weekly feed of tomato fertiliser. So far so good and it's escaped any damage by ruddy snails.

andygb

Francesanne wrote: »

I've never grown ANY veg but after reading O.P. wanted to try my luck with courgette. Have tiny garden and only limited space so thought I'd try to grow one plant in hanging basket. It's my pride and joy and doing really well at the moment. Give it plenty of water plus weekly feed of tomato fertiliser. So far so good and it's escaped any damage by ruddy snails.

Even when you plant things in hanging baskets, you have to watch out for snails - they are good climbers. We had a fine specimem on the outside of our bedroom window a few weeks back, and that must be at least 12' off the ground:eek: