Courgette Trial

[rary]

Yesterday I lifted my garlic out of a large tub 18in. high by 25in. across, i removed half the soil and dug in some B.F.B. into the remainder of the soil, I then scrunched up a lot of newspaper scattered a handful of chicken pellets through it then gave it a good soak, i topped up the tub with a mix of compost and soil, not the soil that the garlic had grown in, I added B.F. B to this soil also and then planted two courgette plants and scattered more pellets then gave them a good watering, I am hoping that the newspaper and feeding will replace the likes of compost or fym that courgettes seem to like, as said its a trial to see how this will work, will let you know how things go

[Bren In Pots]

Rary I’ve planted a courgette in a container that previously grew potatoes. I mixed in some dalek compost, a bit of spent compost and BFB my courgettes doing as well as those planted in the ground.
Let us know how yours gets on.

[Mark Rand]

My courgette plant got transplanted from a 3" pot to a 9" pot today. It was sown far too late, but you never know...

[Containergardener]

I've got 2 in the ground and 2 spare. Think 4 would be too many

[Snoop Puss]

My courgette plant got transplanted from a 3" pot to a 9" pot today. It was sown far too late, but you never know...

Very likely to be a success. Lots of people sow a second round of courgette seeds for when their first plants start to slow down. Mind you, you've got to like courgettes to have two rounds of them! Good luck.

(I speak as the idiot who had eleven courgette plants on the go one year - lots of different varieties, I thought it would be interesting... for a household of two! )

[Bren In Pots]

I usually grow 7 courgette plants they produce anything from 46 to 109 courgettes this year I've got for only 5 plants.

[rary]

I think that there may be a bit of a problem growing courgettes this year with night temperatures of 9c and day temperatures at 13c but still worth a try, on thinking on it i will see if a fleece cover will help, as often been said " You never know till you try "

[Bren In Pots]

Rary I think that's how it is with veg growing, you can only give it a go.

[rary]

I have put some takes into the pot and wrapped some enviromesh around the to protect the plants from the cold wind, i have left the top open to allow access for insects to pollinate the plants, the added protection seems to be helping as the plants are looking a bit stronger than others that i had lanted in another container, though i have now started hardening off a further two to plant in the ground so i will be interested to see which ones survive/crop the best

[Containergardener]

One of my courgette plants has leaves that have gone like this. Is it ok? Its a yellow courgette .

[rary]

One of my courgette plants has leaves that have gone like this. Is it ok? Its a yellow courgette .

Personally I would remove the leaves which have the brown bits on them, but wouldn't add them to the compost bin just to be on the safe side, as for the others it could be a viral infection though i would treat it as a deficiency first, make sure that the plant is kept sufficiently moist and give it something like a regular liquid seaweed feed with the watering can as that would feed the plant quicker than adding the likes of B,F,B to the soil, but I must stress I am no expert, I am just letting you know what i would do.
Just to add I would also spray it with a soapy garlic solution and yes i know I push using that quite a lot, but costs very little to give it a try

[Containergardener]

Thanks rary will tackle those jobs first thing.

[Vince G]

Yellowing is usually lack of nutrients, you know how greedy courgettes are. Brown spots look like leaves are also drying out and crumbling to form holes, not sure what would cause that.

[Containergardener]

How often should I be feeding them?
I've only grown them once (in a pot) , these are in the ground.
Maybe the amount of wind that's hammered them this last week and torrential rain hasn't helped?

[rary]

If you have any feed material like growmore, BFB, chicken pellets or similar sprinkle this around the plant and work it into the soil, be carefull to avoid damage to the plant and water it in, then cover the ground with mulch if you dont have any compost with which you can mulch the ground, cardboard or thick layer of newspapers will do the same job, I wouldn't recommend using a plastic cover as it could create a bit of heat, with or without adding the feed I would give the plant a liquid feed every three days