Courgettes flowering but not fruiting...

[sandspider]

Hi all.

I planted a couple of courgette seeds from a kind person on here. One germinated well, and grew well. (It's in a big pot in soil and compost in my sunny and sometimes windy garden). It flowered, and I was looking forward to a good harvest of big juicy courgettes. However, all the flowers just dropped off rather than turning to fruit... The flowers appeared on hollow stems about 2 or 3 inches long, but all these stems appear to have broken (or been bitten) in the middle, leaving me with courgette flowers in my plant pot but no fruit. There was no sign of slug damage or anything, though the leaves of the courgette plant are now a bit holey and worse for wear. I'll try and put up a picture shortly.

Does anyone have any idea what might be wrong here, or what I can do about it?

Thanks,

Giles

[els]

sounds like you just had male flowers. the female flowers are where the courgettes come from- you can actually see the mini fruit behind the flower.

[sandspider]

That never even occurred to me! How do I make it grow female flowers? :s Anyway, there are a couple more flower buds sprouting so perhaps they'll do better.

In the meantime, here's a pic of the damaged leaves:


Any guesses what might be causing this?

And also, while I was out with the camera, here's my rocket - stringy, leggy, and dying off. Arggh! What am I doing wrong?!



Many thanks for any other info / suggestions.

Cheers,

Giles

[zazen999]

courgettes; that is still quite young by the looks of it. Chop all the dead or dying leaves off and give it a feed and make sure it doesn't dry out -it will probably need a good watering can twice a day at the moment, make sure one of those cans has feed in it. Pop it on a tray and water the tray - you'll be surprised how much it will soak up.

Rocket; It doesn't like either drying out or hot weather. Sow a handful every few weeks for a constant supply. I can't for some reason grow spinach for the same reasons. Also, again, put a tray underneath and make sure it doesn't dry out.

[sandspider]

Thanks Zazen.

Yes, the courgette is still quite young, and hasn't been fed for a while - good point.

However, both courgette and rocket are living outside, and we've had bucket loads of rain recently - could it still be water shortage?

I don't want to over water the buggers either!

[terrier]

Courgettes are weather dependent, If they don't get the correct conditions, they complain. I've never had so many male flowers as this year. It looks as though you're having slug trouble eating the young shoots as well by the number of healthy leaves on the plant, although they usually grow more vigorously in the ground. Maybe give it a dose of general fertiliser and plenty of water. Shelter it from the wind to let it get a bit warmer. Go out at night (esp. if it's raining) with a flashlight and collect all the slugs and give them a good talking to!
As for the Rocket, so many people this year are complaining that it's going to seed befor it's grown properly, so you're not alone.

[zazen999]

Thanks Zazen.

Yes, the courgette is still quite young, and hasn't been fed for a while - good point.

However, both courgette and rocket are living outside, and we've had bucket loads of rain recently - could it still be water shortage?

I don't want to over water the buggers either!

You won't over water if you put a tray underneath and water that - if the water is sucked up in 5 mins then add more. I do this with my toms and even on cold days they still suck up a load of water every day - twice a day.

The thing with relying on the rain is most of it doesn't get to the soil because of the leaves. Plus rain doesn't have feed in it.

[sandspider]

Thanks one and all. I've fed, watered, cut off the dead leaves, re-seeded and even mowed the lawn! And I'll be out tonight with a pack of specially trained slug hunting winged monkeys... Glad it's not just my rocket! Fingers crossed this will do the trick

Cheers,

Giles

[els]

good luck! if it's still young don't worry- mine sent out a whole bunch of male flowers before the female ones started- it's doing great now definately keep it well watered though- the leaf damage might be cos the root ball is too dry??

hope you're scoffing courgettes soon!!

[Mi Jardín]

Mine seemed to pause for breath for a couple of weeks, and now its going again! There is hope yet!

[zazen999]

My cukes in the greenhouse were starting to stop...so I've chopped back, fed, watered and have pollenated the babies in the hope that they keep on growing.

It's hard work innit.....wonder how nature copes in the wild....

[bluemoon]

I'd give it a good feed. Plants make male flowers when they're under stress in the hope that some passing bee will keep their genes going into the next generation by using them to pollinate a nearby, healthy plant. It won't put it's energies into its own seeds (ie, fruits) unless it thinks there's a good chance they'll survive. So, keep it fed and keep it damp and it should pick up and start to produce female flowers. When it does, watch it like a hawk as they can be courgettes one day and prize winning marrows the next. Unfortunately the curcubit family likes to be mollycoddled, but will reward you handsomely when you do. If you're going to grow them in pots next year it might be an idea to mix some homemade compost into the compost mix and add some water retaining granules.

[terrier]

I'd give it a good feed. Plants make male flowers when they're under stress in the hope that some passing bee will keep their genes going into the next generation by using them to pollinate a nearby, healthy plant. It won't put it's energies into its own seeds (ie, fruits) unless it thinks there's a good chance they'll survive.

What a nice way to explain it I've never thought of it in that way before.
Trouble has been that it's been so wet, the flowers were collapsing and not being pollinated. Now the weather is a bit better, the bees have got a fighting chance to do their work, although my b'squash doesn't think it's summer yet

[sandspider]

Just a quick update - courgette is now looking greener and healthier! The feeding (liquid seaweed) and watering seems to have done the trick, plus probably a few nice days of sun. Thanks for the help all. (Still no new flowers, but digits crossed for those...)

My plum and apple trees are fruiting like crazy, and I don't have to do anything at all - just eat the fruit! (I even seem to have some grapes...) It's all good fun

Giles