Courgette plant: disease, nutrient deficiency or neurosis? (With pictures)

[ddiogyn]

Hullo,

I've uploaded pictures of one of the leaves of my courgette plant. The leaf edge is dry, paper-thin, with small dark wet patches. The entire leaf itself has a yellowish discoloration/under-pigmentation between the leaf veins.

Is it a disease? Can it be treated? Should i destroy/isolate the plant?

Pic 1: leaf edge, top view
Pic 2: leaf edge, bottom view
Pic 3: entire leaf, showing discoloration between veins

Update

I know i was advised to stop fussing over the courgettes, however, two more leaves seem to have succumbed to whatever it is that's afflicting this courgette plant... Should i remove these leaves or let them die on the plant (new pics: 4 and 5)? Is this normal dying of older leaves to make way for new growth?

[OllieMartin]

I'll be honest, I don't know.

If they were mine I'd leave them for a while and see what happens. It's in a bucket so the spread should be limited if it is a disease of some sorts. It does look pretty mild whatever it is.

One of my courgettes has some serious bloches on the leaves, but they've been there a while and it's producing better fruit than the rest of the plants.

[rustylady]

I'm no expert, and like Ollie I haven't a clue what is causing it. However it looks reasonably healthy to me.

[ddiogyn]

Thanks all. I really do hope it's nothing, as this has been my most vigorously growing plant.

It was completely fine yesterday when i examined it for aphids. I took the above pictures at noon, and the pictures below i took a moment ago. Whatever the ailment, it's rapidly progressing. Perhaps i should cut the leaf off?

[zazen999]

ddiogyn

Please stop looking at, poking and taking photos of your courgettes!

They are incredibly tough and durable, and will show every little knock but it doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with them.

They are best planted out, and left to their own devices!

Because they are fast growers they very quickly lose the leaves, as soon as they start to look yellow [the oldest ones invariably look weak and feeble] they can be nipped off.

Just make sure they don't dry out, give them a feed once a week and let them do what they do best, which is try to take over the world!

[Liza]

OHHHH nooooo !!!

Sorry, nowt wrong with it, leaf it alone !

[ddiogyn]

LOL! The courgettes must obviously be exerting some kind of parasitic mind control over me. Growing vegetables is horribly neurotogenic; for a moment i thought it might be suffering with vine borer infestation (how easy it is to diagnose symptoms with Google!) before finding out the UK isn't affected!

I will leave well alone, or at least quit examining them under the magnifying glass

[zazen999]

I think you need to sit down and have a cup of tea. And stay away from Google!

[OllieMartin]

Looking for plant troubles is like reading a medical dictionary: you're suddenly convinced you've got everything you read!

[ddiogyn]

Bumpity bump! I've edited the original (first) post with pictures and questions. Please advise

[Bramble_killer]

They look a bit wilted, too hot, too windy etc. The new growth looks fine so I'd try to shade them from the heat of the day or water them a bit more. I remember watering my courgettes twice a day when they were in pots last year. Which is why they're in the ground this year!!

[rustylady]

Are they growing indoors, or outside? I can see that they're in pots - are the pots clay or plastic?

[ddiogyn]

Thanks all.

@Bramble

It's been overcast with intermittent showers here for the past two days (plus i've been giving them their usual morning watering) perhaps too much water? The leaves themselves only appear wilted; the central portion of the leaves is turgid, the edges are floppy with numerous bruised spots which appear to be leaking sap.

@Rusty

They're in 14L plastic builders' buckets (from B&Q).

[womble]

I have to say thats not normal. Could well be too much water, have a fumble about in the compost and see what it's like.

[zazen999]

I think they are in pots that are too small and are being overwatered. To water, they need to be in a tray and once a day or twice when it is steaming hot; put a couple of inches of water in the tray and let it soak up what it needs.

Alternatively.

Have you got any ground they can go in at all?