Topic: COURGETTES

[midnightvelvet]

About 5 yrs ago, I planted some seed randomly around my garden and the courgette harvest was incredible....I tried again last year and they all rotted before they really grew to any size and this year doesn't seem to be fareing much better.  The green ones rotted and the one yellow plant I have is giving off loads of fruits but as the flower dies off, so the fruit starts to rot.  Is it something i'm doing or is this common?

[Squash64]

It sounds as if they are not being pollinated.

[Deb P]

It's common in wet summers....and we had one of those last year as well! Poor pollination can be a problem in wet weather with pollen literally washed away; you can try tearing the bottom part of the flowers, this lets rain drain away and keep the end of the baby courgette dryer which is where the rot often starts. :)

[shirlton]

Wish I had half of that problem. It's courgettes with everything in our house at the moment

[saddad]

Show offs...  ;D
I found a couple of footballs that had been missed yesterday  :-[

[midnightvelvet]

Thanks for the replies....we have a lot of bees etc around so I wonder if its the rain???  Will see what I can do to avoid that problem.
Thanks again
xxx

[tricia]

If you want to be sure of lots of courgettes - whatever the weather - then grow Cavili and Parthenon. They do not require pollinating and are very prolific. Cavili is pale green with a creamy coloured flesh which is delicious sliced raw in salads instead of cucumber or used in any other courgette recipe. Parthenon is a good allrounder too - just don't turn your back for more than 24 hours or you'll end up with enormous courgettes!!

Tricia

[calamityjayneuk]

I am growing Cavali and Parthenon, for exactly that reason, wet summers the last couple of years. It's taken them a while to get going, but now they are off they are doing much better than the varieties I grew last year.