Planting out courgettes

[Paulottie]

Your an early bird wizer.

I usual sow mine back end of April (beginning end this year) but with courgettes I resow at the end of May/early June so I have another one when the first gets powdery mildew.

Don't know how you failed serenity? too much water? Have you tryed sowing seed on edge?

I've got the things coming up everywhere in flower beds from the squashs and marrows we threw on the compost heap at the end of the winter...Use some of the large ones in pickle and frozen ratatouille. But you really only need a couple of plants. I'm doing Tosca, Pattisson Blanc(white from France) and Rond de Nice (Round from France but available here) one of each and we and all our mates will be sick of 'em.

[mrskp]

had the min/max thermometer out in the garden today ..... 120oF !!!!

I'm sure it's not working properly !!

So threw caution to the wind and planted out 4 courgettes. They're under plastic tunnels so I'm hoping for great and early gluts !

and if Mr Frost comes anywhere near, I'll have a stern word and race out with some fleece.

[Mrs Dobby]

We planted out 3 each of 2 varieties today, hasnt been a frost here for 5 weeks now, and although the risk wont have passed until the end of May for us, we've reached the point where they need to go out! Long range weather forecast says no frosts, but if it looks like there is going to be one, then we'll be downb the plot fleecing it all over methinks!

[Don Vincenzo]

We planted out 3 each of 2 varieties today, hasnt been a frost here for 5 weeks now, and although the risk wont have passed until the end of May for us, we've reached the point where they need to go out! Long range weather forecast says no frosts, but if it looks like there is going to be one, then we'll be downb the plot fleecing it all over methinks!

Hello
due to lack of space in my garden, starting last week I had to plant out at my allotment 6 courgettes, 5 snakes of Sicily, 6 various pumpkins, 78 tomato plants ( 122 ready to follow ), 6 vine grapes ( blue muscat ) ............I hope that we will not get a frost!!!. Every year I say to myself..NOT TO OVER DO..no chance!!. This is the time of the year where at the allotment you see gardeners wandering around trying to give excess plants only to come back with different varieties in their hands. Last week I gave 12 tomato plants to someone and guess what.. yes !! I found 12 different tomatoes plants in my allotment with a thankyou note. On the brighter side I gave several artichokes and some snakes of Sicily plants to someone at the allotment and he came back with two bottles of Australian Shiraz..that is what I call a swap...still even better on a similar giving away I got back 3 rabbits and a goose......please do not ask what happened to them, they were dead anyway
My best regards to everybody and by the way I still not smoking!!
Don Vincenzo

[mrskp]

i gave three boxes of various mixed babies to people at the office last week. I do seem to have miscalculated on a grand scale but don't have the heart to consign anything to the compost heap.

next year if i want two, i'll sow two ! i don't seem to have any problem with germination. mind you saying that, i've no blossoms on the toms. but the cukes that i thought i killed have two flowers already ! wtf ?

well done with the non-smoking. i've got a rotten smokers cough atm and really need to do something about it.

keep up the good work.

[Leeder]

Your an early bird wizer.

I usual sow mine back end of April (beginning end this year) but with courgettes I resow at the end of May/early June so I have another one when the first gets powdery mildew.

Can anyone elborate a little bit on this?

This is my first year of growing courgettes, I have successfully germinated 2 seeds (black forest climbing variety), one in the mini greenhouse and the other outside in a pot. I planted these 2 weeks apart.

I had only planned on these growing these 2 plants and giving the remaining seeds from the packet to my brother in law as it is only my wife and I who like courgettes and I assumed that 2 plants would yield more than enough for the pair of us.

However reading what Paulottie said, I am wondering if I need to keep some seeds back?

Am I missing something?

[Paulottie]

Hello Leeder, Many cucurbits (that's courgettes, squashes and cucumbers) are suseptable to powdery mildew in dry summers -especially here as we have sandy soil. Rather than spray with carbendazim, I prefer to plant a second courgette batch 4/6 weeks on. I don't imagine you will need more than one or two plant if they are only feeding you and your wife. you already have a succession anyway. I'm sure if you kept back two seeds for you there would still be ample for your brother in law?

I do the same thing with ridge cucumbers but that is partly because of red spider mite. Good luck with it...one thing i know...when you've got courgettes you sure have lots of 'em.

[Leeder]

Thanks for replying Paul, I will hold back a couple of seeds for late May/early June, just in case.

I am afraid I am also one of these people who hate composting good plants and with a lack of people to donate to, I try to only sow what I need, hence why I was interested in your comment.

Thanks again for explaining the mildew situation to me.

I am so glad I found this site

[pigletwillie]

We do the same paul and for the same reason. A third sowing is also done in late July and these reside in the tunnels for late cropping.

[Alice]

Hello Leeder, I think 1 courgette plant per person in the house will give you all the courgettes you want to eat. If you want to extend the season as far as possible you can plant another 2 a month later than the originals to give you some more when the first ones have cropped themselves to death. Your neighbours will be saying - oh no, here they come again with the courgettes !

[Leeder]

Thanks for the advice Alice.

I can forsee me returning to this site, seeking as many recipes for cougettes as possible in the near future (well at least I hope so, fingers crossed)

[FoxHillGardener]

had the min/max thermometer out in the garden today ..... 120oF !!!!

I'm sure it's not working properly !!

mrskp - were you measuring in the sun or shade? The temperatures quoted on the weather forecast etc, are always taken in the shade. That way you're measuring the air temperature, rather than the intensity of the sun. Clearly, measuring in the sun gives you a much higher result

[OverWyreGrower]

Hello Leeder, I think 1 courgette plant per person in the house will give you all the courgettes you want to eat. If you want to extend the season as far as possible you can plant another 2 a month later than the originals to give you some more when the first ones have cropped themselves to death. Your neighbours will be saying - oh no, here they come again with the courgettes !

I've planted 6 plants, and there are only 2 of us!!!

However, I've had requests for a OWG Vegetable Box from several friends and family, with offers of money attached, so I'm happy to be growing more than we need!!

[mrskp]

I've planted 6 plants, and there are only 2 of us!!!

However, I've had requests for a OWG Vegetable Box from several friends and family, with offers of money attached, so I'm happy to be growing more than we need!!

Join the club. I didn't manage to get a glut last year as I'd been warned about, so this year I think I've over compensated. Got about 6 on the go (4 in the ground and two waiting a bit longer). But then there's some extras in the spare room sown a bit later, and now I find I can sow a bit later still ! and there's only two of us with a very small freezer.

I can see curtains twitching and hear doors locking already !

FHG - ah that would be it then. Shame, I was looking forward to a bit of a heatwave this summer ! There was a real warm heat coming off the west facing back of the house last night.

[chickenjane]

[QUOTE=mrskp;95741]. Got about 6 on the go (4 in the ground and two waiting a bit longer). But then there's some extras in the spare room sown a bit later, and now I find I can sow a bit later still ! and there's only two of us with a very small freezer.

I can see curtains twitching and hear doors locking already !

QUOTE]

that's fine.They'll go well with the glut of tomatoes,onions & sweet peppers that all arrive at the end of the summer.
My sensible (?)suggestion is to make large vats of ratatouille,freeze it into 2 person portions & use as veg or stew base through the winter.
well that's what I used to do & it worked quite well.Just used to bung in what ever else was around in xs each time I did a batch.