My Garden

Courgette was fruiting OK , now female buds die & only male flowers open

Last post 12-11-2009 6:33 PM by Tammy. 12 replies.

• 14/08/2009 05:17 PM

  Anca Location: East Yorkshire Joined on: 14 Aug 2009 Posts: 1

  Reply | Contact  Wonder if anyone can give me a clue to this problem.  A courgette plant seems fine (diameter over 1 m, large leaves, has produced 4 very large courgettes which we've eaten already), but now all the female flowers yellow and die while still at the small bud stage, and never get to flower, while all the male flowers are vigurous and strong, and open without any problems...  Have had 3 or 4 female buds die already, wonder if the plant has had it for the year and will not make any more courgettes?  How does one know?  Watering level seems fine (sticking a finger in the soild about one inch, it feels moist) and it has had oodles of home-made compost _and_ chicken manure when sown, couldn't possibly have run out of food already (?)  It is growing in a very large glazed pot, with 1 little brother (a smaller courgette plant, slower to germinate, now just beginning to flower)

• 14/08/2009 06:52 PM	In reply to
  BB Location: Hereford Joined on: 12 May 2009 Posts: 573	Reply | Contact It sounds like you haven't fed it at all since it was planted in the pot Anca? If this is the case then it needs feeding. Compost typically feeds for 6 weeks only. BB

• 16/08/2009 09:54 AM

  In reply to

  Tammy Location: Brighton Joined on: 14 May 2009 Posts: 69

  Reply | Contact Anca, I have been feeding my courggets with tomatorine, and spray organic seaweed on them once a week, I am planning to go to the beach this afternoon and get some fresh seaweed for them to put on  their soil, I also top up their soil every to weeks since they are in pots, they are very hungry plants so if you want to have courggets you have to give them a lot food, best of luck.   Tammy

• 16/08/2009 10:10 AM

  In reply to

  Tammy Location: Brighton Joined on: 14 May 2009 Posts: 69

  Reply | Contact Forgot something, I think it is not good idea to have two plants in one pot, because all the nutrients  they need, I dont know how big is the pot, but I think they will produce a much better crop if they have their own space, I have seen in my garden I got four courggets plants and one of them was in a small pot waiting to be given to a friend of mine, but it never happened and I transplanted the plant in one of my vegetable bed and it looks beautiful now compare to when it has a small room. good luck Tammy

• 16/08/2009 10:58 AM	In reply to
  richardpeeej Location: Leicester Joined on: 22 May 2009 Posts: 810	Reply | Contact I have had exactly the same Anca. I have had one courgette up to now and that's all, and there is one other one growing now (covered by a plastic bottle to prevent slugs) but another two that have started to develop have gone brown and starting to rot away, just like yours I also have plenty of male flowers and water them every day. Richard

• 16/08/2009 11:01 AM	In reply to
  richardpeeej Location: Leicester Joined on: 22 May 2009 Posts: 810	Reply | Contact After now reading the other posts I guess they need more feeding - I'll try that Richard

• 16/08/2009 11:48 AM

  In reply to

  headfullofbees Location: Cheadle Hulme Joined on: 13 Feb 2006 Posts: 114

  Reply | Contact Send you half-hundredweight of courgettes each if the carriage wasn't so expensive. Seaweed has little in it of nutritional value to plants, it may add a little in the way of trace elements, and be a decent mulch, but you need more water, more nitrogen, and, most of all, more potassium. Water twice a day if they're in pots, morning with half-strength tomato feed, evening with water. I grow courgettes in tubs, and try never to let the surface completely dry out.   richardpeeej: it sounds very much like your female flowers are not being sufficiently pollenated. Either break off an opened male flower, pull off everything but the anthers, and rub against the stigma of a female, or use a 1/2" (12mm) paintbrush to pick up pollen from the males to deposit on the females.

• 16/08/2009 05:20 PM	In reply to
  richardpeeej Location: Leicester Joined on: 22 May 2009 Posts: 810	Reply | Contact Thanks headfullofbees I am sitting near the courgette plant as I speak-I will try that right away -thanks again Richard

• 17/08/2009 11:41 AM	In reply to
  Tammy Location: Brighton Joined on: 14 May 2009 Posts: 69	Reply | Contact  I maybe dont understand what headfullofbees is saying, because I understood that he is saying to feed the plant with fertiliser everyday, as far as I have read from books written by profesionals it is not recomendable to do it, the recomended feed is once a week, hope it helps   Tammy

• 18/08/2009 11:47 AM	In reply to
  headfullofbees Location: Cheadle Hulme Joined on: 13 Feb 2006 Posts: 114	Reply | Contact When growing in pots, it is very easy to sluice all the nutrients out of the growing medium. Tomato FEED is classed as a low-level fertiliser, as it has lower levels of NPK. Should be OK as long as it's no stronger than half-strength.

• 18/08/2009 06:31 PM	In reply to
  Tammy Location: Brighton Joined on: 14 May 2009 Posts: 69	Reply | Contact Ok I handt heard of that, but you must be right in pots they dont get all the nutrients as the do on the ground Tammy

• 12/11/2009 07:48 AM	In reply to
  headfullofbees Location: Cheadle Hulme Joined on: 13 Feb 2006 Posts: 114	Reply | Contact So how did they do?

• 12/11/2009 06:33 PM	In reply to
  Tammy Location: Brighton Joined on: 14 May 2009 Posts: 69	Reply | Contact   You can have a look at my squashes the plants were very productives applying my methods, have a great day     http://cid-5de173ebfb06ab3e.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/My%20squash?nl=1&uc=2&isFromRichUpload=1