How many courgettes?

[Topcat36]

I have about 9 on the go, about to sow some more so they are at diff stages. I tend to use them daily in my cooking so want lots.

[Paulottie]

Do you have a recipe for that please?

Norms snoozing in his shed ...been at the marrow rum again!.

Haven't done this in years!

Cut off stalk end...scoop out seeds. fill with brown sugar drill small hole in blunt end and rplace lid with cocktail sticks. You then suspend it in a stocking over bowl covered with other stocking (to exclude fruit flies.) leave to ferment and drip or 6 months. bottle and leave resulting syrup in dark place for a few months.

Bit of a teenage/pensioner way of getting p*ssed for free but it can taste remarkably good when you get it right. Not something you want to drink too often but fun.

[snakeshack]

I planted 6 each of six varieties!
put one of each out under cloches at lottie,potted 6 up as reserves.
gave rest away to unsuspecting plotholders/friends

[Alison]

And as everyone says you need to sow at least two to get one.

Do you have a problem with courgette germination then? I don't think I've ever had one fail to come up and the only thing that's killed them is slugs when I've planted them out a bit small. I find that a couple of plants is more than enough for the 2 of us to have them as often as we want as well as freezing some in pasta sauces and using a few in chutneys. Get a bit of a mildew problem but it doesn't seem to greatly affect the cropping just make sure that you keep feeding and picking regularly and they don't seem to run out of steam until it gets a bit cold.

Last year made the mistake of going on holiday at the end of July, by the time we got back we had about 3 marrows on each and the plants had stopped flowering. Took them about a month to get back on track which was a shame but at least we got a load more in late summer

[21again]

Norms snoozing in his shed ...been at the marrow rum again!.

Haven't done this in years!

Cut off stalk end...scoop out seeds. fill with brown sugar drill small hole in blunt end and rplace lid with cocktail sticks. You then suspend it in a stocking over bowl covered with other stocking (to exclude fruit flies.) leave to ferment and drip or 6 months. bottle and leave resulting syrup in dark place for a few months.

Bit of a teenage/pensioner way of getting p*ssed for free but it can taste remarkably good when you get it right. Not something you want to drink too often but fun.

Hum, 6 months, I don't think my other half could wait that long, he would probably say it stinks and bin it!

Thanks anyway, very interesting way of making rum though.

[Paulottie]

Maybe its a bit quicker but that's the gist of it.

[Alice]

Welcome to the Vine Rose.

About 2 plants should be enough for you but sow a couple of extra seeds and keep the best ones.

You can freeze your surplus. I cut them into slices and saute them in butter then spread them out on a tray, cool and pop the tray in the freezer. Once frozen tip them into a freezer bag. They come out free flow so you can just take the amount you want to use.
Hope you get a great crop.

[amandaandherveg]

Do the tricolour round courgettes go the way of regular courgettes if you don't pick them quickly? ie, huge?

[veggielover]

Come on this thread this morning as i've realised that i'm gonna have way too many courgettes and its only 2 of us in the house that eats them, just picked my first one and seen that there are another 4 ready for picking..... i needed ideas for storing them...... will defo saute in butter and freeze some ( as i tend to have them with tomato and garlic butter anyway, so makes sense to pre cook and freeze ) but i'm defo gonna make the rum!!!!!!

[tootles]

Maybe we eat more courgettes than most then....
Last year I had 12 plants, this year I have 6 straight and 10 round plants - will sow more at the end of the month though.
There are 5 of us and I like to freeze some for soups etc in the winter.
The round one seem far more prolific than the straight variety, I have picked 6 round already.

[indigox]

I love courgettes, which is lucky because I'm growing heaps this year.
They find their way into almost every savoury dish I cook, if I have loads I grate them up and add them to mince dishes, like lasagna/shepherds pie/ spag bol etc., chopped in curries, roasted, fried, there's a good recipe in the Moro cookbook for slow cooked courgettes with onions, raisins and pine nuts -yum!
They are nice in soups too, and I know some people add grated courgette to choc cake mix, but I haven't tried that ...yet!

[pdblake]

Last year I grew four plants and courgette quickly became a swear word in our house (and there's five of us)

This year I've got seven planted out with a couple of spares in the greenhouse and they're already starting to fruit.

I always let at least one go to marrow for marrow wine

Do chickens like courgette?

[Alison]

Maybe we eat more courgettes than most then....
Last year I had 12 plants, this year I have 6 straight and 10 round plants - will sow more at the end of the month though.
There are 5 of us and I like to freeze some for soups etc in the winter.
The round one seem far more prolific than the straight variety, I have picked 6 round already.

you must be picking several every day with that number of plants!

[tootles]

you must be picking several every day with that number of plants!

Yup, I need four to feed my lot for a meal (or five if I am stuffing the round ones) We will probably have them three or four times a week and I want to freeze loads too.

[phil the shed]

if your having trouble thinking of things to do with your courgettes
try the book by elaine borish (i think) called "what will i do with all those courgettes"
also has one called "what will i do with all those root vegetables"

i fry mine softly puree and freeze in blocks as winter soup base..
during the season you will find my children pleading for a meal that doesn't have courgettes in..
(no chance of that though when there still cropping) evil parent me