Courgettes in pots

[KittyB]

Hello - I'm a newish veggie gardener living in Holland, and am looking for some advice. I've done a search here on courgettes, and found some good info., but was wondering what size pot they should end up in. I read somewhere that one plant can be grown in a 10" pot, which is what mine is in now, but that seems awfully small, and it hasn't started giving any fruit yet. TIA.

[Lesley Jay]

Hi KittyB! Welcome to the forum. I grow my courgettes in the ground but I think 10 inches is much too small for a pot to grow a courgette plant in. I have searched through my books but they just say to use a large container. What about using a stack of old tyres to grow it in?

[Alice]

Hello KittyB and welcome to the vine.I'm growing my courgettes in 12" pots so 10" doesn't seem too bad, or you can grow them 2 to a grow bag. Mine already have baby courgettes about 1" long. The variety is Gold Rush, noted for being early. At the moment they are still in the greenhouse, but will be going outside any day now - I hope, we are at the mercies of the weather which has been a bit up and down. Good luck and let's know how you get on.

[WiZeR]

what about a bucket? only 99p in b&q

[Alice]

Wizer, I can tell you're a big fan of the builders buckets - and quite right. At 99p from B&Q much cheaper than plant pots of similar size. I bought plenty and have Charlotte potatoes in them which look great. Hope the crops as good as the plants look. How's your parsnips getting on?

[SueA]

Hi KittyB, if your courgettes are outdoors it's probably just a bit too early for you to get fruit yet, depends on when you planted them & what the weather's been like in Holland. I grow courgettes in pots, large square ones about 14ins square I think so maybe you should put them in something slightly larger. Mine are still hardening off in small pots in the plastic greenhouse at the moment so I won't be getting any fruit on them for ages yet.

[KittyB]

Thanks for the replies. I've repotted the plant into a larger pot now, and am going to get either a bucket or larger container. I have quite a small garden, and not much room in my greenhouse, so tyres (even if I could get them) would be too big. I noticed a lot of what look like buds on the plant, so I'm hoping it'll flower soon.

[andrewo]

I've grown mine in builders buckets before and in grow bags, both do well but the soil gets spent quickly as they are greedy feeders - I now grow my in an old metal wash tub.

[Doggler]

Love those b&q buckets, just wish they weren't orange! I've always planted my courgettes in half barrels, just one plant per barrel. They spread out quite a bit but look fantastic. Good luck!

[KittyB]

Love those b&q buckets, just wish they weren't orange!

Orange would be OK for me - my neighbours would just think I was being patriotic.

Is it normal for courgette plants to be all leaf and not much stem? They seem to grow out rather than up.

[poultrychat]

Yes kittyB it's perfectly normal don't worry

[julie williamson]

Courgettes are like Jack and the Beanstalk, they just grow and grow and sometimes crawl along the ground for several feet, especially if you give them some good rich muck! But great croppers..Good luck

[smallblueplanet]

Yes be careful what you wish for....it won't belong until you're crying for suggestions as to what to do with courgettes and your neighbours no longer answer the door (but you see the curtains twitch) when you wave courgettes at them!!!!

[KittyB]

I checked the plant earlier on and there are tiny courgette-shaped 'pods' with flowers on the end of them. My hubby is concerned at the potential courgette glut but I am fascinated by it all.

[Mel]

I'm also growing courgettes in pots and need to pot on to their final place. I will be using either 12" pots (Homebase have some quite attractive green plastic ones for under £2 each that I'm using for my tomatoes) or buckets (Wyevale sells black buckets for under £2 - pricier than B&Q but at least they aren't orange).

I have four Gold Rush plants - too many I know as there are only two of us and we aren't huge courgette fans, but that's how many germinated and I'll just give some away to friends and colleagues.

Good to know some people are already getting fruits starting. Nothing yet on mine but they have been outdoors for a while so are probably still adjusting to the climate.