In a moment of sheer stupidity I seem to have planted my courgettes out in a planter that I hadn't drilled holes in the bottom of yet, I only notice my error yesterday when I realised the torrential rain of yesterdays storm wasn't draining away. My question is is there any point in attempting to replant them now (they are still quite small) or would the shock just kill them? and is there any point in starting anymore from seed at this late stage?
thanks for any help!
You've nothing to lose by replanting them and/or trying more seed.
replanting shouldn't be a problem if they are under 5/6 full leaves, though they will hang back for a week or two.
Seeds can still go in and can do up to the end of the month in the south, sometimes even into July
Excellent, thanks for the help, I shall attempt to replant the ones I've waterlogged and stick a few spare seeds in pots just in case.
Just be careful not to disturb the roots too much...otherwise, they shouldn't stay grumpy about it for long...
Try tipping the planter on its side for a while to drain the water out.
Can you not tip the pot at an angle and put a hole in the bottom now?
If you are going to tip it on its side then you may as well drill some hole in the bottom and stand it back up, leave it to see how it develops.
I personally would just drill a few holes in the sides at the bottom right on the bottom edge like a lot of planters have instead of holes in the base.
I did this recently with a similar situation (not courgettes) and has worked well.
Last year I had a disaster where my beetroot in a container got flooded by water from the gutter overflowing and although very sorry for themselves for a week went on to make a good crop in the end.
I just wanted to post a quick thank you for all the advice, I drilled holes in the side of the planter and tipped it (very carefully!) to drain off the water and then left them to it... they sulked for a while but I went out this morning to discover my first courgette so disaster diverted! In the meantime I planted a spare plant that is also going great guns now so i'll be no doubt checking out the courgette glut posts sometime soon!
thanks for all the help ;D