My courgette plant which I started from seed only about 5/6 weeks ago is starting to flower already even though it's only about 6" high!!!
Surely as the stems not thick enough yet, it won't support itself???
At a bit of a loss here, as I bought plug plants last year.
BTW, the plants are still in small pots indoors - they're too small to go outside yet (I think)
SK x
Think it's a bit early yet. I'm growing "All Green Bush" this year, but won't be starting them off indoors until the end of this month, then planting out the end of may.
As spudly says you are a bit early.
Just cut the flower off!
I've made this mistake before and ended up having to start again.Lat year I sowed mine indoors on 10th May and planted out on 6th June and got loads.
Plants go into self preservation and flower to produce seed if they feel that their life is in danger.
If yours is in a pot, which is too small. Re-pot it into a larger one and nip off the flower.
Absolutely right ZigZag, one of our plotholders had 3 tomato plants at the end of the greenhouse that he left in 4 inch pots as he had no room for them.
The main plants were 5 feet tall with small green fruits and the 3 pots had 18 inch plants with small ripe tomatoes on.
http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments_Vegetables_courgettes.html
I agree with zigzag.
I won't be sowing mine in the greenhouse till mid-May.
You can get an early crop of courgettes if you are prepared to put the work in and grow them in a tub in the greenhouse. Being greedy and with rapid root growth you need to pot them on into ever increasing sized pots literally every few days. Look at the bottom of the pot and if you can see root starting to come out of the drainage holes then it's time to move to the next size up. Greenhouse during the day and indoors at night until the pots are so large that this becomes impracticable, eventually ending up in a tub with a few chicken pellets mixed in. I've been doing this for the last few years and I have had courgettes to pick by the middle of May. The plants do become exhausted being in tubs but by then your next lot of plants will be ready for planting outside. I only heat my greenhouse when there is danger of a severe frost in late April and I have found that the courgettes manage quite well using this arrangement. I was glad I did this last year as the wet summer ruined my outdoor courgettes - they succumbed to mildew but my greenhouse ones battled on until they became scraggy around July. I have two going at the moment - about a foot high and now in 8 inch pots. These were sown about 3 weeks ago. They have flower buds just showing which I will leave. They are currently sunning themselves outside the greenhouse.
Thanks all for the advice. I'll try these ones in bigger pots indoors then plant some more for outdoors in a month or so.
SK x