Courgets
Last post 06-07-2009 7:38 PM by miranda. 19 replies.
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27/06/2009 08:46 PM
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- Tammy
- Brighton
- 14 May 2009
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69
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Hello everyone, I have been eating some courgets from my garden, and they taste delicious, I have three plants and the biggest has been very good so far, but I have noticed that one of the plants has three little courgets two of them instead growing look like they are drying out, these two have been growing touching the soil and i havent been able to put them away from the soil because i dont know what to do. I have been watering all of them twice a day and feeding once a week with organic liquid seeweed, I havent got a clue what is going on because it is first my time ever I grown them, could someone help me with it?
Best wishes
Tamara
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27/06/2009 09:39 PM
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Perhaps the blossoms were not pollinated. Do you have a lot of bees or other pollinators? It's my understanding that cougets (called zuchini here) need to be pollinated in order for fruit to form. I've never grown them as they are prolific in our climate and people are always giving them away. The standing joke is if you have too many you bag them up, put them on someone's doorstep in the middle of the night and run like crazy before they catch you.
I've been told that you can hand pollinate them using a cheap artist paintbrush. My son had better luck with his after he started doing that. Hope this helps
Marilyn
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28/06/2009 12:15 PM
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Be very careful when hand-pollinating courgettes, there are occasionally bees resting inside the flowers.
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28/06/2009 03:21 PM
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- Tammy
- Brighton
- 14 May 2009
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69
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Thank you headfullofbees, I am really scared of bees since I was stung by one on the beach in Venezuela beaches are full of crazy bees, I took the male flower this morning and shaked on the females we'll see how it goes.
best wishes
Tamara
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28/06/2009 03:26 PM
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- Tammy
- Brighton
- 14 May 2009
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69
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HI Marilyn
Yes I thought it could be the problem since I did some reading about it, it is good to be reasured, I have quite a lot of bees in the garden and I think they more interested to make me run around the garden than pollinateing my courgets hahaha.
I wanted to ask how I do the brush trick? I know you can take the male flower and shake it on the female, which I did this morning, but I was wondering if the brush trick was only brushing the female and nothing else.
Thanks a lot
Tamara
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28/06/2009 09:41 PM
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Hi Tamara. Nothing beats courgettes straight from the garden to the pan! If they are drying out, it sounds as if they have somehow been 'disconnected' from the stem. Can you see any cuts or holes where something has eaten through, or if they have somehow snapped off? Even a partial cut, which could be hidden from view, could stop enough water getting into the fruit. btw, with that many plants you will have enough to make chutney when the season really takes off!
One is nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth.
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28/06/2009 11:12 PM
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My recollection is you take some pollen from the male flower with the brush and then brush the pollen inside the female flower lightly.
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30/06/2009 07:06 PM
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- Tammy
- Brighton
- 14 May 2009
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69
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HI Celtic Heart
I cut them off, those ones looking dry and sad, I have more courgetts coming out and they are looking very good, if the drying out happens again I will check as you recomended.
Thanks a lot
Tammy
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30/06/2009 07:08 PM
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- Tammy
- Brighton
- 14 May 2009
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69
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Thanks a lot Nevada gardener, I will try that again, I saw my courgetts today and the new ones are looking ok so far, next time i will try the brushing trick.
Thanks
Tammy
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04/07/2009 09:35 PM
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You're welcome. May you have so many courgets that you have to leave them on doorsteps in the middle of the night
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04/07/2009 09:47 PM
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- miranda
- Oxfordshire
- 17 Nov 2004
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2,977
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I haven't hand pollinated my courgettes and they're fruiting fine. Does it make a lot of difference?
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05/07/2009 08:03 AM
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 miranda:I haven't hand pollinated my courgettes and they're fruiting fine. Does it make a lot of difference
Can do.
Most of the time the flowers will be pollinated by bees, but hand pollination means that every female gets seen to.
When weather conditions mean no male flowers, you can really see the difference in the fruit.
Btw, I hand-pollinated my palm trees and got done for date rape.
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05/07/2009 09:59 AM
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- Phot's-Moll
- The sunny South coast.
- 06 Jan 2007
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3,347
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If you've got lots of courgettes you can use some up by chopping finely and added to all sorts of savoury dishes, such as curry, pasta sauces, lasagne, stews, soups. They make the meal go further and are very low in calories, so save cash and inches!
Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.
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05/07/2009 11:28 AM
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- miranda
- Oxfordshire
- 17 Nov 2004
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2,977
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I think we must have plenty of pollinators about, headfullofbees, because all the flowers are producing fruit. Yes, Phot's, been looking through our books for new ideas on using courgettes. Madhur Jaffreys's Asian vegetarian book has several interesting ideas that we're planning to try out. That's a good thing about all this seasonal food, it gets you out of the recipe rut.
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05/07/2009 04:20 PM
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The first time I had a glut I discovered how unpopular they are! I was amazed! I couldn't give them away, and I soon decided that if people didn't like them it was because they've never had them cooked in an appropriate way. That year, I soon learned to make chutney, adding lots of ginger to it, and it is one of the best chutneys I've ever made and everyone loved it. Gave jars and jars away. They also make a great dish of fried onions, apples and sliced courgettes, eaten hot or cold. mmmm, getting hungry now!
One is nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth.
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