I'm just wondering how many courgettes the average plant will give over the summer. There's just the two of us and while we like courgettes it's not our favourite veg. So how many plants do you think we'll need?
Any advice?
Gillian, just when I was thinking about how many courgette plants I was going to put in, you posted your message :)
I'm going to grow 4 plants, like I did last year (there again, I might be half your number, but I like them ;D
The trick is to pick them while they're still little - that way you won't get over-run (never, ever turn your back on a courgette plant :o
Last year I grew Tristar, pretty fruits - yellow, light green & darker green. Think I might do the same this year, but anyway, I'll be putting in the same no. of plants again - got the balance just right last year. Hope this helps. Lish
Average 25 but, as said before, Genovese gave us 60!
Make lots of ratatouille?
Two plants will give plenty,but stagger the sowing.
Stephan
With 4 plants, our family gets overwhelmed with courgettes during the peak. However, friends and colleagues get the benefit.
After several trials, I have settled on Jemmer F1, a yellow courgette with a yummy almost sweet flavour. Excellent as ratatouille.
It can depend on the weather a bit: they can go crazy if it's warm and dry - I remember picking 16 courgettes from 2 plants in one week a couple of years ago. I even started making courgette cake (nicer than it sounds) to use up the surplus...
Conversely, if it's dull and damp the insects that 'do the business' for the plants can be a bit thin on the ground...and so the yield is more manageable.
Anyway, 2 plants should be plenty: don't forget to plant them in a big pile of the proverbial...
Gillian,
I agree with the likely number of fruits per plant stated above, basically quite a lot if the weather is good, you plant them in some good organic matter and keep them well watered.
On another list one new gardener planted 35 - suffice it to say that she raised the subject of what to do with a surplus of courgettes!!!
Phil
Wow thanks! so much for the advice. I think I'll go for a couple of plants first up and see how they go. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks again!
If summer is hot, one plant should be enough. If you like ratatouille, grow one courgette, two aubergines and two peppers. My courgettes usually start to produce before the other two, so while I'm waiting... courgettes stir fried with black pepper or chilli...mmmm!
I confess to growing six courgette/marrows for just me (Hubbie is a veg hater, ironically).
If you leave a courgette which is fruiting too much to grow a marrow, it stops producing the babies for the duration, and you end up with a beastie you can carefully cut and stand on one end in a cool place and it will last months without freezing. Meanwhile you don't get buried under courgettes.
I love marrows - and ate a small one today for Easter lunch, stored under the stairs from last September!!! They go bright yellow, and look lovely. But you have to check every week or so and eat any that look mouldy, but do get fresh veg through the winter.
Meanwhile, if you grow yellow and green courgettes, and cut them into 1cm cubes as you pick 'em, you can freeze them in resealable bags and have courgette for stirfrys or whatever for months. If you openfreeze then you can just grab as many as you need for your ratatouille or whatever :)
moonbells
I always end up with a surplus of courgettes so make loads of courgette (instead of marrow) and ginger chutney and sweet and sour pickled courgette. Stores well and greatfully received by family and friends ;D
I planted four last year and intend to go to six this year.
Your right about watching them...I made the mistake of going on a weeks holiday last year and I had marrows up to my armpits when I got back.
I think I read somewhere that the courgettes grow up to four inches a day...maybe someone will confirm or deny that for me
Derek
I sowed seeds and planted three plants in lottie last year
and due to the torrential summer weather they ALL turned to mush!
I shall grow 6 this year and give away any surplus (:-\) to family & friends.
Debs
I would be happy with one courgette! Planted a couple of plants last year and I think I picked about 3 fruits in all. Marrows were a little better, squashes were fabaroonee! Going over board on the courgettes this year - got them round, yellow, stripey, light green, dark green, bushes and trailing. Fingers crossed for a bumper harvest.
Maybe it's time to emphasise Stephan's point of successional sowing??
Meanwhile, this is a sight that pleases me!
Your courgettes look great! Mine are a bit lanky but they'll be ok. My favourite crop to grow as they are very easy and give such great reward. There are so many ways too cook them too so they're never boring. My OH paid 70p for a courgette at the supermarket a few weeks ago :o
My Jemmer seedling looks like those Tim :) But my genovese do not, leggy little things they are :-\
Derek and Tim could you tell me whether those varieties are bush or trailing?
Cheers
Rondo & Genovese are both bush. No room for the trailers.
We have put about six courgettes in , and so far the slugs have had three of them!! >:(
Does anyone know of a good organic slug killer..if there is such a thing?
I put slug pellets inside a box with a hole made in the side. This is as I have a dog who does like to investigate everything :) I have put lager in to the boxes and yeast granules (worked very well) The slug can't get out once in :(
I know the slug pellet isn't organic but it's not coming into contact with the plants and is safe if put into a box out of the way of animals or children
QuoteDoes anyone know of a good organic slug killer..if there is such a thing?
A mallet ;D
What I do is surround the plants with egg shells or slug stoppa or gravel and that seems to keep them off long enough, helps if you can keep the leaves off the ground for a bit too. I find that when they get to a decent size the slugs leave them alone -too furry?
Jeremy
Quote from: derbex on April 28, 2005, 13:54:52
I find that when they get to a decent size the slugs leave them alone -too furry?
Jeremy
yes but then they start producing the fruit, which they eat instead. grrr. little unmentionables ate the first courgette I ever grew. I'd gone out with my knife to harvest it and found a slug munching in it. That knife came very much in handy!
;D LOVE the mallet idea!! But it's catching them in the act isn't it....
The box with the hole may be a goer....already have some gravel down , I will start saving egg shells up....
Cheers all :)
about this time of year, we start eating a lot of souffle :D , husband hasn't worked out why yet!! although he has commented on the pile of eggshells in the kitchen...
2 eggshells of mine exploded in the oven :o :o :o The hubby was not too impressed! (I bake them cos I find they crumble easier!) The smell of burning eggshells was disgusting :P
My Courgettes get everything I can lay my hands on, coffee grounds, eggshells and beer traps! The other thing I do is to use a collar made from plastic bottles, and put it around the plant and then fill inside the collar with the eggshells,(If that makes sense!) then the slugs have to travel up the collar, and across the eggshells to get to the plant, spect they will figure out polevaulting this year! :-\
The biggest thing I have found that helps though, is to make sure they are pretty large before they go in the ground, then they have more of them to fight off the slimey terrors!
I save my needle droppings from the christmas tree to put around my runner beans, seems to keep the darlings off.
Interesting -I've never had them nibble a fruit, they've eaten small plants and the edges of leaves though. I'm not sure if the fruit of the ones I've grown has touched the ground.
Jeremy
I have planted some little gem lettuces surrounded by Fish, Blood and Bone, and the slugs seem to be leaving them alone - presume the same would work for courgettes . . .
Well a darn slug has eaten the growing point out of 2 of my melons :o. What are the chances of them continuing to grow and branch or shall I bin them and cry a lot? :'(
If you like pumpkin pie and have more courgettes than you can use, try courgette pie - it will be a very interesting colour (bright green, the last one I made) but tastes delicious, much like a mild pumpkin pie. I'll post the recipe on Recipes 4 All.
Any surplus courgettes I always grate & freeze use in soups stews bolognese sauce etc.
this might sound a daft question but does it matter which end you stand the marrow on to store it as I kept mine on their sides last year and many went mouldy..I was going to hang them up in old tights this year but if standing them on their side works for you I wil do that, and I thought they went all gooy if you froze courgettes.
AAhh. I have about a dozen that have germinated. Me thinks I should've read this first. Guess I might be having a go at courgette cake! I thought they were looking good, - but they don't look like Tim's.
I also didn't realise they needed 1m2 each. That's a lot of room. gulp.
I've almost got all of my squashes up and running now. Grand total (so far) of 14 with another four to go. I'm just hoping that the Parthenon variety lives up to the blurb, ie doesn't need pollinating to set fruit. I'm hoping that this will give me lots of early fruit before the Defenders get cracking. So much for my previous post in this thread saying I was growing six! (ok four of the above are butternut squashes which have a patch to themselves).
I can always give some away... if the recipients don't run off screaming...
moonbells
Moonbells -my Parthenon is fruiting now -plan to have some tonight. They might be a bit small but I just can't wait ::)
Jeremy
If you think you have too many you could always eat the flowers. I am told they are lovely dipped in tempura batter and deep fried. Last year we managed quite welll with four plants and that supplied all the family and friends at work, but I think this year we will grow more just for the flowers.
;)
If you eat the lowers, do they produce more until they produce mature fruit or die?
Quote from: EJ - Emma Jane on April 28, 2005, 18:14:13
Well a darn slug has eaten the growing point out of 2 of my melons :o. What are the chances of them continuing to grow and branch or shall I bin them and cry a lot? :'(
leave then a week and see if here is any new growth.
Same happened to some of me cues last years, they kept going, but seemed really slow catching up.
oh poor thing, don't cry - get revenge!
Clanger - by the time the flower has formed, so has the fruit.
Quote from: derbex on April 28, 2005, 13:54:52
Does anyone know of a good organic slug killer..if there is such a thing?
A mallet ;D
Jeremy
Jeremy,
I remember one of Michael Bentine mad professor sketches where he had a fool proof bug killing powder. This was applied to the bug, very violetly, with the applicator (a very large mallet), he then pointed out that the applicator stunned the bug to give the powder time to take effect
Phil ;D
Still have fond memories of Potty Time.
Presumably because of the violet nature of the sketch, it was on after 8pm in Square World
Phil
Better than the blue ones you get these days??
Quote from: tim on May 04, 2005, 06:32:53
Clanger - by the time the flower has formed, so has the fruit.
There you have it - you spend a few weeks on here and you start to convince yourself you know something about growing veggies then you make a statement that exposes you for the newbie you are. I shall slope off to some dark corner somewhere....
Quote from: tim on May 04, 2005, 16:00:03
Better than the blue ones you get these days??
:D