Courgettes in pots

[Alice]

Thanks Lesley. The Gold Rush seem to be getting bigger now so will have another chance to check the flavour. I'll report what I think.

[SueA]

Brewer 800mm sounds enormous for courgettes & aubergines, more like Jack & the Beanstalk! My courgettes sprawl around in the large containers I grow them in & the courgettes appear more or less in the centre resting partly on the surface & growing upwards. Post some pics. of yours if you can. If the black flies are flying around you could hang up some yellow sticky traps but if they are sitting on the leaves just wash them off.

[Earthbabe]

aubergine in a pot

Can anyone advise the best size pot for an aubergine "Baby Belle". I bought one on impulse at a gardeners' fayre.

Also will I be ok with only one?

I will be putting it in my growhouse which will hopefully be warm enough.

[Alice]

Hello Earthbabe, I'm growing Aubergine Baby Belle. I think a 9" pot should be big enough. Mine are doing well and covered in flowers, but no aubergines yet. Maybe I'm impatient. I've got 2 in the house and 2 in the greenhouse. They look as well as each other. So sorry, don't know how many plants you need to give you as many aubergines as you want. Hopefully I will know after this year.

[Earthbabe]

Thank Alice. I've not grown aubergine before so it is an experiment. What I meant is will one be ok for pollination or does it need a less than platonic friend?

My books suggest no more than four to six fruit per plant and that will be enough for the summer.

If we are successful even with one or two I may look at growing them again next year as they can be a bit expensive.

[Salina]

Mine are just starting to grow their 4th leaf. thing I found funny is their 2 first leaves are sort of oval shape and the 3rd and 4th leaves that are appearing are more round with rough edges lol. how much longer do you think it will be before they produce courgettes? will hopefully be putting them in bigger pots/containers as soon as I get some more soil. here's a pic I took a few days ago (they are in the small pots infront of the windowbox with the radishes growing in it lol)

[Earthbabe]

Fab pic Salina, looks like my growhouse, window sill, patio table, potting bench....... Maybe I've overdone it a little.

[Cutecumber]

Kitty - not all young courgettes may be fertilised, that is why they may not grow to full size and rot off. If this is a recurring problem, you can become the pollinator yourself (if there are male flowers open at the right time). Take a male flower, carefully remove the petals. Gently put the stamen into the female flower(s). This will transfer the pollen.

(I've advised that on the forum once already today and I feel like I should be working at a fertility clinic!! )

[noidea]

You have all just inspired me!

We have a tiny raised bed (all the room we have to grow really!) but eat lots of courgettes so they are taking up precious space in there at the moment. They are only just getting their 4th leaves so I think I might pull one up and grow one of the spares in a B+Q bucket instead. I am sure I can use that space better in the raised bed.

By the way... my B+Q buckets are black!

Thanks for all this info everyone!

C

[Alice]

Hello Earthbabe, Aubergines do male and female flowers so one plant should manage it all by itself.

[Earthbabe]

Thanks Alice, It's going into a bigger pot today and I've got to clear out the growhouse as it goes. Shouldn't be too difficult as most things in there are germinating nicely.

I'll let you know how I get on.

[NattieG]

Mine are just starting to grow their 4th leaf. thing I found funny is their 2 first leaves are sort of oval shape and the 3rd and 4th leaves that are appearing are more round with rough edges lol.

Hi Salina - great pic! It's our first year at growing them too (growing anything actually!). I think the first pair of leaves come through differently as they are the seed leaves, but further leaves after this have the rougher, pricklier look. Your plants sound just like mine anyway, so I hopefully presume they are normal!!

[kittykat8]

mine are plant in a fmily big pot that has a water system t the botton I bought these from aldi's, the plant has started producing fruits one is about 3 inches long should I pick it. Also i had to pick one of my peppers as it had started to develop a white patch what is this and why.

thank you

marion

[Catalyst]

Hi all,

KittyB was asking about the flowers. There are male and female. The female will have the tiny courgette at its base, the male flowers don't. You'll also see a difference in the centre of the flowers. The male flowers have a pointed mass of anthers in the centre, an elongated part which LOOKS very male, if you get my drift!

You need to pollinate the female flowers. If you don't, your fruits may never develop. You do this by stripping off the male flower, folding the petals back and rubbing the central anthers into the centre of the female flower. Not doing this may be the reason that some people's fruits have rotted away before reaching a good size. While on the subject of the flowers, they are edible and if you want to buy them for culinary purposes they're very expensive. You can find some good looking recipes for stuffed flowers, but I think dipping them in a light batter, like tempura, and then deep frying them is delicious.

Someone else mentioned the leaves rotting and/or going yellow. The yellowing will sometimes be caused by under feeding. You cannot overfeed a courgette. One feed of seaweed is not enough. As someone has pointed out, you can plant them straight into a compost heap - and you can also plant them straight onto a pile of rotted manure. That's how hungry they are. This is why, if you plant them in a pot, you need to feed them at every watering, which will be every day. Give them a liquid tomato feed, like Tomorite.

The rotting may be due to a number of things, but courgettes are particularly susceptible to mosaic virus and powdery mildew. The mosaic virus is usually spread by aphids, and causes the leaves to first go yellow and then rot away. The only cure is to destroy the plant. With powdery mildew the leaves get a - yes, you guessed it -powdery mildew, which doesn't sound so bad, but it is a form of rot and there's no reliable cure. It is often caused by poor ventilation. This is a problem, because you have to water them all the time, particularly in pots. The answer is to choose when you water them carefully - in the morning, before it's warm enough for the water to evaporate up into the leaves would be my recommendation. You want the water to go into the plant via the roots - you don't want the leaves to be damp on the outside. It's also a good idea to strip away some of the younger leaves, which will go yellow once your plant is mature enough to start producing fruit. This will happen naturally and a yellow leaf is useless for photosynthesis anyway, so it's no loss to the plant but you will improve ventilation.

Just realised how long this post is, so will be brief with these last points. To the person with 5 plants - unless you really, REALLY love courgettes and have a very large family indeed, and aren't planning on leaving your house for 24 hours at a time this summer, 5 plants is 4 too many. Courgettes are PROLIFIC once they get going. And finally, to the person with 1 inch fruits who thinks it will be weeks before their first crop - try days. They're fast!

Best regards,
Catalyst

[syanide]

Catalyst, a very helpful post, thank you indeed.

(cheekily, can i ask if it will be similar for pumpkins too? I think I've got a Lady Gadiva and another type...which looks ratehr like the courgette!!!)


Cheers,

syanide