Courgettes Flowering

[GrannyJ]

Hi

I've only just joined the forum so am a bit behind with the thread. I only found it because I was looking for answers to my courgette problems. I've grown courgettes several times before and had them coming out of our ears (they make a great courgette and walnut chutney) but this year although I've got 4 courgette plants in a sunny corner of the garden I've only had male flowers. Have just checked on RHS website and apparently the problem is the weather - the female flowers need warmer weather (and longer days) than the male ones in order to form. Eventually I guess they overlap and hey presto courgettes. Looking out of hte window today, I think I might be in for a bad harvest of courgettes as it's absolutely tipping it down and I'm sitting indoors in a jumper - more like October.

Haven't had much luck with spinach either, but the carrots are doing well and we are getting more mange tout peas than we can keep up with so it's not all bad.

The weather must get better soon surely?!

GrannyJ

[jackie j]

Hi granny j welcome to the vine. I have three courgette plants on my allotment and two of them are going great guns quite a few courgettes so far the third is a bit slower and smaller but still producing courgettes please could I have the chutney recipe it sounds lovely. my spinach was great at the begining but i struggle with it now.
I agrre with you on the weather tho I dont hold out much hope its pouring here.

[Lavenderblue]

we got given some plants and they appear to have settled in well with loads of flowers of both sexes on them - typically, the people on the next plot have millions of courgettes. Typical innit!

[Hans Mum]

Hi

I've grown courgettes several times before and had them coming out of our ears (they make a great courgette and walnut chutney)
GrannyJ

that sounds delish any chance of posting the recipe? ive got a few dozen courgettes to pcikta

[jonohanson]

We bought a tiny little one from Lidl, thought it was a cuc at first. Well it seems to be going like the clappers had a few off it(only small ones first) but now it seems to be producing larger and larger one(they must be the only thing loving the rain).

Think I will be having some with stir fry tonight

[Kristen]

"it seems to be producing larger and larger one"

Best picked small, I reckon.

[armadillo]

I don't usually pollinate by hand, as the courgettes always seem to produce masses anyway - I guess the insects do the work.
I've pollinated a few of my 'gold rush' this year though; if there's no fully open male flower I've taken the petals off a closed one and put the stamen (I think that's the right word?) into the female flower.
If you have courgettes growing along the ground, prop them up on straw/ bits of smooth stone etc as they can go rotten if lying on the ground. They can also go rotten if the dead flower is left on the end- you should be able to knock the flower off quite easily once it's fully closed.
I think my road has a strange warm microclimate- there are several courgettes on each plant, both ones in containers and those on the ground. Going to pick a few 'gold rush' later to have with salmon and my first broad beans

[Novice Gardener]

Sorry if this has already been covered, but I think I've made a boo boo with my courgettes - I've got 3 courgette plants at my lottie - all of em are flowering, but the other day one of the more experienced plot holders advised me to pinch out all the male flowers as they took away the "goodness" from the plants that is needed to produce the female flowers - so I did, but now I'm reading on here that I should have left the male flowers on in order to get the females to pollinate?????? HEEEEEELLLLPP!!!!!! Has anyone got any piccies on what the female flower looks like, cos at the moment the buds that are forming look exactly like the ones that I was told were the male flowers

[Kristen]

"one of the more experienced plot holders advised me to ..."

They didn't also tell you to go down to stores for a couple of greased nuts and a long weight did they?

Just ignore the flowers on your Courgettes, they'll sort themselves out just fine. Do a Sun Dance instead, that's really what they need to get them going. Water them when dry, and feeding them won't hurt (but I expect you are already doing that, no need to overdo it)

[Demeter]

Sorry if this has already been covered, but I think I've made a boo boo with my courgettes - I've got 3 courgette plants at my lottie - all of em are flowering, but the other day one of the more experienced plot holders advised me to pinch out all the male flowers as they took away the "goodness" from the plants that is needed to produce the female flowers - so I did, but now I'm reading on here that I should have left the male flowers on in order to get the females to pollinate?????? HEEEEEELLLLPP!!!!!! Has anyone got any piccies on what the female flower looks like, cos at the moment the buds that are forming look exactly like the ones that I was told were the male flowers

I read somewhere (sorry, can't be bothered to confirm where and quote a source) that courgettes do produce far more male flowers than female ones and that producing male flowers does use up energy so removing them if there are no females in sight might make sense. You do still need to have a male about the place once the females turn up though! But more will grow. Funnily enough, my first flower was a female that went unpollinated because all the male flowers were still at bud stage when it opened...

Haven't got a pic of male / female flowers (there are some about though, do a google image search) but anyway it should be pretty obvious one you get a female flower, as they have a small but fairly obvious fruit and the female flower it attached to the end of the fruit. The fruit will be maybe an inch or so long when you first spot it, growing to maybe 2-3" when the flower opens - and it is distinctly swollen compared with the slender stems that carry male flowers.

It sounds confusing but it isn't - you won't be confused once you've seen one. (At least I was until I saw one but I'm not now - having said that my first one was a yellow courgette so I would have to be colour blind to mix those up...)

[GrannyJ]

Here's the Courgette Chutney recipe from my earlier post. The quantities can be varied a bit and the quantity of chutney it makes seems to vary a bit as well. I usually just sterilise a couple of extra jars just in case. It is really important to salt the courgettes first to draw the water out of them. Just remember to rinse them really thoroughly afterwards otherwise the chutney will be too salty.

Ingredients
1.5 lb courgettes, sliced and cut into small pieces (cut the pieces to a size suitable for putting in a sandwich)
1.5 tablespoon salt
8 oz ripe tomatoes (skinned) You can use tinned ones to save time
4 oz onions chopped
4 oz sultanas
1 lb sugar (granulated or preserving)
12 fl oz pickling vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 oz walnuts (chopped) - optional

Put the courgettes in a colander and sprinkle with the salt. Leave for 2 hours, then rinse well and dry. Put in a pan with the remaining ingredients except the walnuts. Heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer until thickened - it's done when you can draw a spoon through the mixture and it leaves a track. Stir in the walnuts. Pour into hot sterilised jars and seal. Label when the jars are cold.

If you can wait, keep it for a month or so to mature. I keep mine in the cupboard under the stairs. It stores for several months unopened.

Makes about 3lb

Enjoy!