Sick Courgettes

[krato]

Hi there, my first post here I'm a complete newbie to veg growing, or any growing in fact! Started this year and just had bad luck since day one!

Anyone have an idea of whats wrong with my courgettes? New growth appears to be dead and the older leaves are curling and browning =[ this is all of my crop, its disheartening =[

I think my squash has some form of mildew too, is there anything I can do about that? Will post pics soon to make sure. Is there any organic ways of curing/preventing it? Or any fungicide that you can use on vegetables? Most of the fungicides I've found say ornamental use only.

Thank you for any help! =]

[taff]

Check the basics first before you panic.
Have you planted it in a big enough pot, they grow very big, so a titchy pot is no good[strike that if it's outdoors]
Have you got it in too cold a place?[don't know where you live]
Have you watered it while the sun is shining? [ the borwn curly bits suggest it's been burned by the sun when the leaves were wet]
Have you overwatered it in a pot with no drainage? [strike if No.1 is outside]

The way to avoid bad luck all the time, is to read up on what plants you're growing, to see what they need, pot size, weather conditions, watering etc. It doesn't look unsaveable yet, so panic not.

[Two_Sheds]

I would expect that your plants have been over-watered

[krato]

Thanks for your replies!

I just transplanted the plants into larger pots recently, but they seem to have been ok in the smaller ones as seedlings.

I keep them in my greenhouse, I'm in the north west, - manchester so pretty cold but its warm in there so I don't think its too cold. I could possibly have got water on the leaves unintentionally when the suns shining, I usually water the plants from the bottom though to try to prevent that from happening. Drainage should be ok in the actual pot, however I keep the pots on a tray and water could have stayed in the tray overnight?

If it is due to over watering them will the plants be ok? Or will the roots have become rotten?

[Two_Sheds]

Only water your plants when they are dry.
Lift the pots up, if they are light then water. If they feel quite heavy, then don't water.

And don't ever leave them sitting in water ... 20 mins is ample.

[krato]

okie dokie! Sounds simple enough now, It probably was due to overwatering then =[ I hope they will be ok now, I'll take better care of them, thanks so much for the help! =]

[Alice]

Hello Krato, I think you're worrying too much. Everybody panics about their courgette leaves. In my experience courgette leaves always end up a mess but even when the leaves are hanging in tatters they still make courgettes. Most of the problem is due to weather damage, or water splashed on the leaves then scorched. I'm sure your courgettes will be fine. You can plant a couple more now to give you a crop later when your courgettes have exhausted themselves.

[krato]

Hello Krato, I think you're worrying too much. Everybody panics about their courgette leaves. In my experience courgette leaves always end up a mess but even when the leaves are hanging in tatters they still make courgettes. Most of the problem is due to weather damage, or water splashed on the leaves then scorched. I'm sure your courgettes will be fine. You can plant a couple more now to give you a crop later when your courgettes have exhausted themselves.

Thanks Alice! I didn't know you could still plant courgettes I thought it was too late! I'll get doing that today, maybe they'll grow a bit better now I know what I'm doing lol

[Incy]

I keep them in my greenhouse, I'm in the north west, - manchester so pretty cold but its warm in there so I don't think its too cold.

Hi Krato,
I am also in Manchester and have grown courgettes successfully for the last 2 years edspite the miserable weather.
I wouldn't keep them in the greenhouse if I were you. I made the mistake of planting some of mine in the GH border last year and although they looked fabulously healthy ( in fact they grew so big it was nearly impossible to get in there), they tend to grow foliage at the expense of crops. My rather pathetic looking plants that were in a grow bag outside, produced excellent crops both in quantity and quality, even though they looked as though they were dying most of the time. Although it hasn't been great, the weather is warm enough here now to have them outside so I would recommend you harden them off and get them out in the fresh air

The indoor plants also tended to rot due to the warm moist conditions in the GH