Allotments 4 All

One of my courgettes has produced it's first courgette - but it is only about the size of a finger and hasn't grown at all over the last week. :-\

Should I wait and see what happens or should I cut it off and see if the next ones are OK?

Oh Blister....I had exactly the same problem and it seems, from the wonderful advice I was given by our members here in this group....that it's because the fruit hadn't been 'pollinated'......I eventually cut mine off  after it had remained static for about 8 days - it was barely 3" long but I still chopped it up & fried it in butter with garlic & onions....wasn't going to waste it  ;)

Since then, I'm doing my best to pollinate the female flowers (of which there are few) with the male flowers (of which there are loads  ???
if I can get to them before they close up each day (I don't get much sun on my little patio)

However, today, I've eaten 3 more courgette fruits - varying in size from 5" which was 'normal' another at nearly 4" and sort of bulbous one end and skinny the other - think I pollinated it while it was in it's 'static state' and it then 'took off'....the last one was another 'stunted/unpollinated' one but they all made a tasty morsel with some tiny broad beans for my lunch  :P

I don't beleive in wasting good food.....H.P. :)

 :-\

"Pollinated"?????? Mine are not big enough yet to have flowers on them! Jealous...again!

;)

Hello

Newbie here and a newbie to growing veg and fruit.

I have 3 courgette plans and a few of them are starting to flower, my question is, how do i know what is male or female and how do i pollunate them.

Many thanks

They'll probably throw out more male flowers to start with (thin stalks), then the female ones (with a bump behind  ::)) will start to show too...

e.g. http://www.showcook.co.za/topsi.htm (http://www.showcook.co.za/topsi.htm)

If they're planted outside then insects should take care of the pollination, alternatively: pluck a male flower (+/- strip off the petals) and hand pollinate the female flower.

I have tiny courgettes showing, I reckon my first glut will occur just as I go on holiday to Turkey in a fortnight's time ...

Thank you

Looking at the flowers, it looks like i only have two male and the rest are all females. 

At the moment the bulge after the flower is about 3 inches long so by the looks of it, it wont be long before i get to eat my first homegrown courgettes. 

I don't worry about pollinating courgettes, they always go crazy and produce more than I can use all on their own.  Three courgette plants could keep the south in courgettes for the entire summer!  ;D ;)

Quote from: Hot_Potato on June 25, 2006, 21:19:09
... another at nearly 4" and sort of bulbous one end and skinny the other - think I pollinated it while it was in it's 'static state' and it then 'took off'....

I have one that looks like this also - thought it was just a wierdy!  How interesting... :)  Does anyone ever grow Orelia, a yellow variety?  I have some on the go and so far they have only grown to about 5 inches - I thought it must have been a baby variety (although the packet didn't say) but maybe its this non-pollination? ???

Quote from: sally_cinnamon on June 27, 2006, 11:05:51

Quote from: Hot_Potato on June 25, 2006, 21:19:09
... another at nearly 4" and sort of bulbous one end and skinny the other - think I pollinated it while it was in it's 'static state' and it then 'took off'....

I have one that looks like this also - thought it was just a wierdy!  How interesting... :)  Does anyone ever grow Orelia, a yellow variety?  I have some on the go and so far they have only grown to about 5 inches - I thought it must have been a baby variety (although the packet didn't say) but maybe its this non-pollination? ???

They're just fooling you - give'em a couple of days and they'll be as big as your arm.

As far as i know there are'nt really any baby varieties - i suspect the dry wheather (till yesterday) has been holding them back.

They have a nasty habit of hiding too - lift up the leave's and you might find a monster lurking in the shade.

I rescued a couple of courgette plants from the boy's school fete.

They are in the mini greenhouse until I can get them down to the allotment.

They have a sort of white growth on some of the leaves.

Can anyone tell me what it is and what I should do please?

Is it white or grey hairyhippy? ::)

I'm pretty sure its white.

'Only grown to about 5"'??

DO try to pick them before they get beyond 6"??

Otherwise you have young marrows & then worse!!

Quote from: hairyhippy on June 27, 2006, 17:45:56
They have a sort of white growth on some of the leaves.

It might be mildew - if it looks dampish and smears when you rub it, spray the leaves over and under with diluted milk
If it's a clump, it might be someone's eggs, but I think you'd have said ;D
Most plants will shrug this off as they get a bit bigger :D

Thanks Sprout.

I've taken some pics.


I'll stick the otheres in a seperate thread so as not to hi jack this one any further.

I use photobucket.com - its free to register, you just upload your pictures from your computer and then it gives you a hyperlink that you just copy and paste into your post.  Easy peasy! ;D  (Sorry if i'm not supposed to mention the name of the website...)

hairyhippy - this is nothing more than the natural colouration of the plant variety you have. i too have silvery veins in my leaves - part of the plant :)

my variety is 'all green bush'