Grow Your Own Magazine

Having recently become a veggie virgin I'd like to know why my courgettes are producing plenty of flowers but no signs of any fruit as yet. Should I just be patient or are there any tricks to help them along?

Thanks

Corn on the Rob

Courgettes (and other squash plants) produce both male and female flowers. The female flowers have a tiny fruit behind them, and these are what will eventually produce your courgetts, or pumkins, or marrows etc. They need to be fertilised by a male flower (looks the same but on a thin stem - no tiny fruit behind). If planted in open ground usually no problem, but if in a greenhouse or polytunnel you may need to use a paintbrush to transfer pollen from male flowers to female to ensure you get fruits.

Welcome to the Vine Corn on the Rob. The season is still early. Courgettes usually start with a flush of male flowers then the female flowers and the courgettes come along. That will be any day soon now. I think you have to be patient for a few more days.
That is if your courgettes are outdoors and can be pollinated by insects. If you have them indoors you may need to go round with a small paint brush and give them all a tickle.
Hope you get a courgette tomorrow.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Thanks for the replies. I'll be patient but if nothing happens I'll give em a tickle.

Thanks

Corn on the Rob

All but one of mine are still producing only male flowers. That's usual so don't worry. The exciting thing is that ONE of them has a little courgette! They grow so fast that you'll soon be up to your knees in them! Good luck.

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Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated November 17th - The Big Dig

Hi corn on the Rob and welcome to the vine. It helps if you fill in a rough location on your profile. Mine are producing a few small courgettes but the changeable weather makes it slow progress. A bit of the ol' current bun will get them going I suspect.

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Paul

Im also doinf courgettes for the 1st time along with many other veg in my garden. when you say give them a tickle with a paintbrush, could you explain? i may sound dumb, but an idea would be appreciated from this newby :-) thanks in advance

Mike

I've just started growing courgettes as well. at the moment mine have 2 big leaves and a 3rd smaller leaf with rough edges is appearing. anyone know how long it will be before they start flowering/producing courgettes?also, if you don't pick the courgette when it appears will it turn into a marrow?

Hi Devon Surfer,
Usually for courgettes grown outside you dont have to hand pollinate but if for some reason they dont then you can use a paint brush to by gently wiggling in the male flower and then dabbing this onto the female flower - the female is identified by a small swelling at its base, alternately you could remove the male flower and rub/dab this into the female.

Ps Welcome to the vine

Hi Salina,
With the weather being unpredicatable you may get slow flower growth or just male flowers but as the weather settles down the plant should start producing more female flowers - it will come and soon you will be over run and wonder will it ever end and yes if you dont remove the courgette it will continue to grow into a marrow .

Welcome to the Vine Devon Surfer. TEB's answered your question. Hope you get lots of lovely courgettes. What else are you growing ?

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Hi Corn on the rob and devon surfer welcome to the vine! Looking forward to hearing how you get on! Best wishes Bernie

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Appreciate the little things in life because one day you will realise they are the big things

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Jan A novice gardener - first year of growing

I grew courgettes for the first time last year in pots. The early flowers did fall off and didn't produce fruit. I thought it was because they were in pots and didn't have enough water but they fruited eventually. This year I've planted them in the ground today. I've spaced them about 3 feet apart, is that about the right amount of space for them? If they can be closer together, I've got a few in reserve.

ooo exciting lol. so how many leaves do they get before they have flowers? and how long after they get flowers do they start producing courgettes? it's all a bit technical lol.

Hi all you lovely lotty advisers- i read with great interest and wonder if anyone has any idea if my first early spuds will survive..... after six and a half weeks with no rain ( and i only watered my less hardy seedlings) the huge downpours of last weekend have almost flattened my spuds before the flowers have opened. A couple of stems are broken as though trampled by a herd of thornyclods! what do folks reckon? thanks actiongran:

Many gardeners will give you many answers actiongran! However, the one I've stuck to, which my father-in-law quotes to me every year, is 14 weeks from planting for earlies. I tend to weaken at 12 but I think that much before that you can get a disappointing yeild. The most important time for watering is when the tubers are swelling which would be in the last month (which is why sneaking them out a bit early loses some of your yield!) The thing about flowering can be misleading too. Some varieties tend to put out flower more readily. In my case this year - arran pilot, several are flowering but many more aren't. End of June is my deadline!
PS - the thornyclods (luvverly word!) were probably the wind and rain - no worries, the plants will be ok.

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Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated November 17th - The Big Dig

Happy days. I've just spotted my first courgette.

Thanks for all your replies.