Topic: BIG COURGETTE PLANT HARDLY ANY COURGETTES?

[mpdjulie]

Last year I sowed about 10 courgette seeds.  Only 1 took.  It grew to about 2ft high and 3 ft wide in my greenhouse.  I watered it daily.  I only got 4 courgettes off it.  I am looking to have another go this year.  Can anyone tell me where I went wrong?  Is there some type of pruning that has to be done like tomatoes?
Thanks

[Suzanne]

Did you feed it at all?

They are very hungry plants and like a lot of feed. I only grow 4 courgettes plant a year as I learn't my lesson in my first year of growing, I was inundated with them.

I grow them outside, and prior to planting them out put a lot of compost and manure in to the hole. I still really have too many fruits - but I like to grow different colours (normal green, yellow and this year a white cousa variety from real seeds, I also like to grow some round ones as well.).

[littlebabybird]

i would grow them outside
maybe feed them (i dont but it might help)
lbb

[terrier]

Hi, mpgjulie, it's odd that you only had 1 seed germinate? The only thing I can suggest, assuming that the seed was viable in the first place, is that the growing medium/compost was too cold and too wet so that the seed rotted.

[littlebabybird]

you could also try soaking the seeds over night first to soften the shell and or fileing a little of the shell of to make it easier for the seed to get going
lbb

[betula]

I would guess it was the seed,remember to put it in the pot sideways. :)

[OllieC]

Can I just check - courgettes & tomatoes with low yields but plenty of greenery - your greenhouse does have get enough light, doesn't it?

[Lauren S]

Maybe you planted it on a leaf day and not a fruit day  8)

[asbean]

Or maybe the moon was in the wrong place  ::) ::) ::) ::)

[mpdjulie]

OllieC - Could be a problem with both plants.  The greenhouse was one of those from Argos that are semi opaque with a green grid running through.  Luckily my husband is building me a large greenhouse soon out of timber and clear plastic corrugated sheeting, so hopefully lack of light won't be a problem this year plus I now know to cut off side shoots with toms.
Thanks everyone for your replies, they are most valued, especially to someone llike me who knows naff all about vegetable growing!!!
 :D

[Bean_Queen]

A plant needs a high-potash feed (like Tomato feed) to produce fruits.  Too much nitrogen will produce lots of leaf (good if you're growing leafy crops) at the expense of fruit

[GodfreyRob]

Last year I sowed about 10 courgette seeds.  Only 1 took.  It grew to about 2ft high and 3 ft wide in my greenhouse.  I watered it daily.  I only got 4 courgettes off it.  I am looking to have another go this year.  Can anyone tell me where I went wrong?  Is there some type of pruning that has to be done like tomatoes?
Thanks

If it produced plenty of flowers then its down to pollination. Courgettes are usually pollinated by bees - if the greenhouse was closed because of the cold weather then maybe the bees could not get in to pollinate the flowers?

You can always hand pollinate to make certain the crop can develop. This simply involves rubbing the male flower against the female (the one with the small fruit behind it) - you have to pull off the male flower to do this.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I suspect hand pollination may be your answer; there aren't usually many pollinators in a greenhouse. But why grow it in one when it does so well outdoors?

[Old bird]

I grew the climbing courgettes (Black forest or something similar) in my polytunnel and I had courgettes from June to the end of October.  They were quite magnificent even though I say so myself.  Part of the care these ones got (and they didn't get a lot) was at least 2 gallons of water daily each.  Plus the ground was very well fed with compost and manure.  They were in a border and not potted.  I will probably do really badly this year - now that I have bragged about my last year ones!!

Old Bird

 ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

Did you leave the door open? I've no experience of growing under glass, but I've noticed flies on cucurbit flowers, so pollination is probably by these as much as bees, which would be less likely to go inside.

[Old bird]

If you are asking me Robert - Yes - doors both ends wide open during the day!

Old Bird

[woodypecks]

Hallo mpdjulie ! Those courgettes will romp away planted outside when the weather and soil warm up . Plant into a bed that gets the sunshine .  I love your cute rabbit Toby by the way !  Debs  ;)

[bedrockdave]

last year was our worst year ever for courgettes , we normally have so many the neighbours hide when we get home in case we give them more ;D , I think because of the amount of rain they just didn't pollinate or rotted on the plant

[Bean_Queen]

, I think because of the amount of rain they just didn't pollinate or rotted on the plant

A cold spring is really bad for courgettes ... it causes fruit to rot rather than grow.  Always try to sow in succession, so you have a backup plan if one lot fails

[PurpleHeather]

Once you get the seeds to take, they are like triffids.

I agree that sometimes there are bum batches of seeds, mostly there is no problem.

Just get a huge mound of manure, they like it fairly fresh and bung the plant in it.

On top of a compost heap anything with loads of poo/compost and they go mad.