Allotments 4 All

to grow Courgettes please. ;D

plant them 2cm deep in a small pot of compost end of april in your greenhouse or windowsill. Then plant them outside late may with some compost.

Put the seed in on its side when planting in the pot to help avoid damping off.

Once established in seed trays, I transplant mine into 4-5 inch pots.  When large enough the plants get planted into the ground with manure in the bottom of the hole and all around the plant.   Courgettes then grow in abundance.

Courgettes grow fast inside - but put them outside in a cold wind and they will sulk and stop growing.
So make sure you have room inside for them until its warmer and there is a sheltered spot ready outside. Move on to bigger pots as soon as you see roots sneaking out of the bottom of the pots.

And don't grow too many. :P

Eristic..........if you have the secret do share ;D ;D ;D

It's difficult not to grow these. Once they get started you always have too much. You can use them for all sorts of things -even in jam.

And keep picking them as you will end up with marrows ;D ;D

YES! Pick often - or you'll be trying to palm off Marrows to everyone you know.

:-[ How else do you end up being described by the neighbours as 'the Marrow woman'

and a machete!!  ;D

Year before last (disastrous year for courgettes for me last year....only 3 fruits off 4 plants.unheard of! :o )  my neighbours all closed their curtains and bolted their doors when they saw me arriving with armfuls of courgettes! ;D

I just love them, raw, shredded, sliced, stuffed on their own or in combination but I still don't grow more than about 4 or 5 plants.

Don't forget, if you only want a plant or 2, or you just can't get them to germinate,  you can buy them in April and May from garden centres, nurseries and DIY stores.

Which kind are you wanting to grow? XX Jeannine

I bought a packet of mixed summer squash seeds. Six seeds each of four different courgettes and six each of two types of Pati Pan.

I also planted  6 Butternut squash seeds...

100% germination, 42 plants in total. It's a good job there are a few newbie (Very new) allotment holders around me.

The way I plant them is to dig a hole, fill it with a barrow load of manure, mound the soil up on top and plant them in the middle of the mound. I also make a hole in the top of my compost heap, fill that with soil and plant one or two in there.

Quote from: Eristic on March 29, 2008, 21:08:33
And don't grow too many. :P

Oooops... Now you tell me!

Quote from: Plot69 on March 30, 2008, 11:51:42


The way I plant them is to dig a hole, fill it with a barrow load of manure, mound the soil up on top and plant them in the middle of the mound. I also make a hole in the top of my compost heap, fill that with soil and plant one or two in there.

Buds, this is exactly how I grow mine after starting them off in peat pots in the cold frame.

BTW...the compost heap? Yep, this is going to be reserved this year for the Biggest Marrow EVER 8) ;D

Quote from: Alishka_Maxwell on March 30, 2008, 12:13:49
BTW...the compost heap?

I got a big heap made from pallets that's full. Shan't be needing it's contents until Autumn so it seems a shame to waste the space and I may as well make use of  it until it is needed.

Thank you all very much for your advice, we just love them so i am hoping to do well, i shall let you know later in the year how i did,