Flagging courgettes

[Peachie]

My courgettes have been doing quite nicely - 3 plants - until over the past 3 days, one by one they appear to be wilting and dying which is very upsetting for a first time veggie grower. I haven't done anything different to them. Any ideas as to why this has happened or is this a usual occurrence with courgettes?

[terrier]

Hi Peachie,welcome to the 'vine'. This my second year at growing courgettes and although hit very heavily with mildew, they are still soldiering on and producing good fruits. Last year they started off well but didn't last, only had a few fruits. I had 3 small pepper plants that were starting to fruit well...until last weekend, they suddenly just gave up and colapsed. Blame the weather, just too wet and chageable...and cold now. I know a lot of gardeners have a late sowing of courgettes for when the first lot of plants have burned themselves out.

[Two_Sheds]

I'm losing plants to the wind at the moment...broken off at the roots. Not that, is it?

[rustylady]

I only planted three courgette plants this year, cos last year my family and friends got really sick of me giving them courgettes. Sods Law, this year only one of the plants is doing anything at all, and that very slowly but when they are ready they are lovely.

[Vegmonkey]

I am having the same problem. Have all but written them off this year. Next year they WILL be a success!!!

[tricia]

Are you feeding them regularly? They are greedy blighters. I have found that mine have put on new growth since their last feed.

Tricia

[Pumpkin Becki]

My courgettes did really well to start with, then I broke my leg and wasn't able to get to the allotment for a couple of weeks. During this time, the plants had grown one enormous fruit each between 12 - 15" long! I think the plants really exhausted themselves doing this, because subsequent courgettes have been truely pathetic and very slow to form. I have given them a dose of tomato feed to see if this helps, but I think the weather may put the final nail in the proverbial coffin!

I also understand that Bumble Bees are the major pollinators of courgettes, and they stop flying at about this time of year, so this might also be a factor. Perhaps I'll have to do a bit of hand pollinating!

[muckdiva]

Mine are rubbish too this year, normally they are a cert. The one at the allotment is very puny, probably due to gusty conditions up there. I have a scallop courgette growing in a tyre at home which looks more promising, fingers crossed for a few fruit before the autumn. I was a late starter with planting out this year anyway, but nothing has really got going cos of the weather.

[pcjay]

I usually have great courgettes, but the last two years not one of the seeds has come up. I have no idea why??

[Alison]

Are you using new seeds or are they ones that you have kept from a previous year? I never seem to get a problem with them sprouting although if I direct sow, the slugs seem to get them before I notice they've come through! As a result, I always sow in 3" pots and then plant out after the frosts have finished. Quite often by this time they've been potted on to a larger pot which helps them get established quickly.