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Author Topic: Courgettes  (Read 7592 times)

Anke

  • Joined Dec 2009
  • St Boswells, Scottish Borders
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #15 on: July 31, 2014, 08:48:59 pm »
You can always grow a variety that doesn't need pollination.....

I would have thought that this is similar to blossom-end rot in tomatoes?

I have honey bees on my land and they do a sterling job with pollination! Bumblebees are great but have one massive disadvantage - no honey at the end of the summer!!!! :o

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #16 on: July 31, 2014, 11:17:26 pm »
:roflanim: FW I just thought it must be you with such advice that sounds like it's from someone as experienced as yourself.

Greenerlife, your advice was so professional, I apologise for the mix up in names  :roflanim: fame should be restored.

Perhaps me and FW are twins, separated at birth?  :roflanim: 

I have bees, but still have the problem with the courgettes.  Taking flowers off them?  You'd be strung up in Italy if you did that!  Yummy.


I always believed I had a twin sister and spent ages looking for her when I was a child.  My mother promised me I didn't have one, but maybe I did.......... 8)    :roflanim:
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Mammyshaz

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • Durham
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #17 on: August 01, 2014, 07:42:15 am »
Thanks for the bee link FW, very interesting and a great list  :thumbsup:

I was happy to see I have lots of the plants already on the list, my best one being a large  Ribes currant which is just amass with bumblebees on the pink flowers early spring, the whole bush hummmms as you pass.

I don't have comfrey...yet  but I'm on the case  ;D

Maybe my problem is too many other nice bee  friendly flowers for them to bother with the courgettes by summer  :thinking:  There are several species visit our allotment and we have masonry bees in the house wall so I guess I'm doing something right, just maybe not making the courgettes very attractive? Their flowers are always hidden under the large canopy leaves. Would cutting the larges leaves off help perhaps??

Simon O

  • Joined Mar 2010
  • Bonkle
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #18 on: August 01, 2014, 08:38:09 am »
I agree with all of above about pollination. In addition I have found that although the courgettes do grow prolifically in the polytunnel and you can have earlier fruiting, a lot more will go this way inside than out (perhaps due to less pollinators getting into the tunnel), but also the plants energy seems to go into leaf production rather than fruit production. So overall I think it might be better to pull up the polytunnel courgette plants once the outside ones start to produce. We did not bother with courgettes in the PT this year after the last couple of years when a lot of space was taken up with little benefit

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #19 on: August 01, 2014, 11:17:13 am »
We have to grow our courgettes in the tunnel because they simply wouldn't grow outdoors here - we've tried it several times.  We have some comfrey inside the tunnel (mulch which grew  ::)) and that flowers really early.  Between that comfrey and the over wintered brassicas which ran to flowers, our polytunnel was buzzing.  We also had strawbs in flower in there, but we rarely saw a bee on them - they were getting drunk on the brassicas and comfrey.  However, they clearly were pollinating the strawbs too because we had a bumper crop of well pollinated fruit.  The ways of bees are mysterious  8)  :bee: :bee: :bee:

Simon, you have your wonderful walled garden, so can grow so much that we can't up here - you're so lucky  :thumbsup:  :garden:
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Simon O

  • Joined Mar 2010
  • Bonkle
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #20 on: August 01, 2014, 11:45:27 am »
Yes I know you are higher and colder and windier there Juliet so that's what you need to do. Our outside courgettes which started a bit weak and late are now right into their productive phase with a great big tub full every few days!! it's so hard to catch them before they get big as it seems to happen overnight. Trying to grow squash in the PT this year as they did not mature outside last year - they are taking over the place with plenty of small fruit coming

 

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