Helping the fruiting along.....Courgettes

[killerflies]

Hi all,

Just a quick one for ye!

Ive got a few courgette plants on the go (3) and started a little later than planned (5 weeks ago). Is there anything that I can do to speed the fruiting on? The plants are all 10 inches tall and have approx 6-8 leaves.

Adding potassium?
Romantic music?
Massage?  :P

Or is it just a matter of waiting?? Is there nothing I can do?

Thanks in advance!

[killerflies]

[tim]

Yes. No!!

[Trevor_D]

Courgettes are umpteen-percent water, so this weather will be brill; when it doesn't rain, water them a lot. Apart from the occasional comfrey feed I've never given them anything else. Just hang on and you'll be asking what to do with the barrow-loads of courgettes you've got spare.

Five weeks isn't a long time in gardening!

[allaboutliverpool]

Keep them well watered.

Spread a mulch of well rotted manure around them and talk to them every day when you pull any weeds out that compete for food moisture and light.

[Tulipa]

Mine have been planted out for five weeks and are no bigger than yours, they had a set back with cold weather a few weeks ago, so yours will be fine - I bet they look better than mine..... :(

Good luck

T.

[Tee Gee]

Although I don't disagree with the watering regime I would say dry weather has a role to play i.e. flower forming & pollination.

All the watering in the world is no use if fruit hasn't formed due to lack of flowers and pollination.

Once the weather improves( if ever) you will quite probably be inundated with fruit (or is it called a veg  ???)

[killerflies]

Thanks all! Just the information I needed!

[caroline7758]

I was worrying about mine a week ago as they seemed to be producing flowers and long stems but no fruit. Today I picked my first fruit, two of them about 6" long. Think rain and paitience was all that was required!

[Kea]

Mine planted more recently than that have female flowers about to flower....but no males yet. Usually the males appear first.

[Debs]

No fruits on mine yet either! Same as calendula - flowers on long stems.

Have put a couple outside greenhouse as they were inside which was prob too dry.

Patience is a virtue. . .

Debs  ::)

[antipodes]

Courgettes always come through in the end!
They have their moods I find - they sometimes grow a few small crappy fruit, or some will go a bit rotten and dropoff and next time you look there are a few massive courgettes on them or a mass of flowers and baby fruit! Then they go quiet, then they run off and send out fruit en masse!
I find them to be the best behaved veg in the garden almost, almost no maintenance, just a bit of a weed (but mulch them and almost no weeds!), a bit of a feed ( i just plant mine in loads of muck then they go the whole hog like that!) and you have veg from them for weeks.

[killerflies]

Since I posted originally, they have taken off.

They are well watered in their self watering container and are soaking up any bit of sun that they get.

Wont be long now I feel...................... ;D

Thanks again to all that replied.