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Author Topic: Courgettes  (Read 7589 times)

MischieMoo

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Moray
Courgettes
« on: July 29, 2014, 10:00:49 pm »
Hi

I'm growing courgettes in a polytunnel but as soon as the veg are about 3 inches long they start to go brown from the end and finish up soft and rotten.  Does anybody know what the problem is?

Greenerlife

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Leafy Surrey
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #1 on: July 29, 2014, 10:03:14 pm »
My first few on a plant usually do that.  I just take them off and wait for the next ones which are fine.  Fingers crossed!

Mammyshaz

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • Durham
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #2 on: July 29, 2014, 10:06:27 pm »
Have you got plenty of air circulation day and night? That can cause rot. I'm sure there is also a rot on courgettes caused by fungus but cannot remember what  :thinking:
I also have the odd one like FW and just pullet off. Plenty of others grow well but mine are kept outside and it is usually more a problem in very warm, damp days.

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #3 on: July 29, 2014, 10:31:50 pm »
That was Greenerlife Mammyshaz  :roflanim:

The tips going rotten is caused by lack of pollination.  I've got a big problem with that this year as hardly any male flowers are appearing on any of my courgettes and squashes, but there are shedloads of female flowers.  It tends to be more of a problem at the beginning of the season, then sorts itself out later.  Even if you eat the non rotten end of an affected courgette it tends to taste rather bitter
« Last Edit: July 31, 2014, 01:16:17 am by Fleecewife »
"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.

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #4 on: July 29, 2014, 10:55:29 pm »
Goats will eat them though.  ;D

Dreich Pete

  • Joined Jan 2014
  • Aberdeenshire
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #5 on: July 29, 2014, 11:56:06 pm »
I've had this problem for a week or two, but before it started I had a couple of weeks of great crops. There are still good fruits on the same plants as the ones that are rotting. It's weird that they grow to about 6-7" before going off.

No shortage of insects around so not pollinating seemed unlikely, but I suppose there's a lot of choice for the pollinators and a few flowers are bound to be missed. Maybe it's time to get the tiny paintbrush out.

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2014, 12:09:36 am »

If you have only one male flower on a day when you have open female flowers, or you want to be sure pollination has taken place, take off the male flower, pull off its petals and the spikey green bits underneath them, leaving the bits with powdery pollen on exposed.  Go round several female flowers and dip the male flower into them.  You can use male flowers from squashes on courgettes too, and vice versa.
"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.

MischieMoo

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Moray
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #7 on: July 30, 2014, 08:56:45 pm »
Thanks for all your helpful replies.  There are plenty of male and female flowers and more courgettes coming.  I've pulled off the rotten ones so will see if any of these later ones actually grow to a decent enough size to eat. They are well watered and the polytunnel flap door is open so should be air circulating.

If it keeps on happening I'll have to think about getting some goats!

regen

  • Joined Jan 2013
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #8 on: July 30, 2014, 09:48:32 pm »
I always remove the flower once the courgette is a couple of inches long and this usually stops any infection.  From when it starts growing to harvest at 5 to 6 inches generally only takes a couple of days however some remain small and thin and after a few days start to rot from the flower end.  This may be due to poor fertilization.

Regen

Mammyshaz

  • Joined Feb 2012
  • Durham
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2014, 11:24:24 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.

It's interestingly strange how under-pollination causes the courgettes to  start rotting after several inches of growth. This is exactly what happens to the odd one I grow despite growing outdoors. Is there anything that can be done other than manually pollinating them?

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2014, 01:19:05 am »

Get lots of bees  :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee: :bee: :yippee:
"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 #11 on: July 31, 2014, 07:56:14 am »
I wish I could have bees. It's not practical to keep them on our allotments but we do have the next best thing ( IMHO ) We have bumble bees nest in the ground each year and pollinate early spring.

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2014, 09:18:45 am »
I wish I could have bees. It's not practical to keep them on our allotments but we do have the next best thing ( IMHO ) We have bumble bees nest in the ground each year and pollinate early spring.

I think Bumble Bees are better.  They are native, which hive honey bees aren't, and they pollinate far more than the honey bees do, start earlier as you say, and can work when it's colder because they wear woolly coats.  Also they hardly ever sting - a definite positive point in my book.   So encourage your Bumbles with wild flowers and by leaving a few areas of scruffy grass and compost stuff for them to nest in.  Protect any nests you find and they will work with you in keeping your courgettes pollinated.  There's a list of good flowers for bees we all worked out together somewhere on TAS.  I'll see if I can link to it.

Let's see if this works http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=46293.0

Yes, that whole thread is the one I was looking for.
« Last Edit: July 31, 2014, 09:27:06 am by Fleecewife »
"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.

Greenerlife

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Leafy Surrey
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #13 on: July 31, 2014, 12:33:09 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.

Dreich Pete

  • Joined Jan 2014
  • Aberdeenshire
Re: Courgettes
« Reply #14 on: July 31, 2014, 02:12:30 pm »
I have loads of bees and areas of bee friendly ground but I suspect they have too many distractions elsewhere to bother hanging around the courgettes. Perhaps I need to make the surrounding area slightly less attractive so that they see the courgettes as a pollen rich island.

 

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