staking courgettes

[tootles]

My courgette plants are huge. A couple have fallen over and I thought that I would stake them, they seem to be sending out tendrils to climb though. I don't want to encourage more height!!! They are over 2' high so far.
Any ideas?

[queen of the cobs]

tendrils? Courgettes don't usually have these, do they? Have you got a cucumber?

[tootles]

Nope they are certainly courgettes!
They are producing courguettes and smell nothing like the cucumber plants.....

[armadillo]

hmm, interesting . . maybe you have some sort of climbing variety- both my normal and 'gold rush' courgettes just sprawl out from the middle. Perhaps give one some stakes & string and see if it feels inclined to climb? Or some sort of horizontal frame might make it head sideways rather than up?

[Kristen]

Mine sprawl too.

[tootles]

Mine start from a central stalk and then split into lots of upright branches, some with leaves on and the others with courgettes/flowers on. Everything comes from the centre though. A horizontal frame sounds like a good plan though, perhaps a stake 18" high at each corner of the bed (3'x9') and horizontal pieces all around to support?
I did rather think that my courgettes were "normal" but clearly not!!!

[Cutecumber]

What variety are they?

There are a few - but only a few - crawling/ climbing courgettes. One that is readily available is Black Forest.

Bush types can extend significantly along the ground but everything forms off the main stalk.

[Charles Hemingway]

am I doing right nipping the flowers off the courgettes and the male flowers too?

[zazen999]

Charles

When are you doing the nipping? Once they are ready to harvest or before?

[Charles Hemingway]

Doing now as they are small courgettes, not yet big enough to to pick but they are growing and will soon be ready I hope

[Two_Sheds]

Courgettes have a lot of top growth on a relatively spindly little stalk, and they do suffer from wind rock.

You need to stuff the gap between the top growth and the ground, with something like straw. This will stop the plant wobbling around and snapping.

[Demeter]

Courgettes have a lot of top growth on a relatively spindly little stalk, and they do suffer from wind rock.

You need to stuff the gap between the top growth and the ground, with something like straw. This will stop the plant wobbling around and snapping.

Thank you - that sounds like a really useful tip!

[tootles]

Now, see, that would be tricky as the courgettes are growing between the ground and the top growth!!!