Giant courgette plants!

[Raindancer411]

For people that are growing the courgettes in pots, what size pot do you recommend? I have a 48cm pot, is this big enough?

[JimmerG]

thanks jimmer, how do i do that then

Tracy

Comfrey tea is an absolute wonder fertiliser - and completely free!
Just find a load of comfrey - once you've spotted it you'll see it in allsorts of places - don't get it mixed up with young foxglove plants though!

Stick a good arm full of leaves in a bucket or barrel - fill it with water and leave it for a month.... make sure its got a lid, it smells utterly revolting!!

Once its brewed for a month use it to water anything that bears fruit - diluted 1:10. Don't forget that fruit doesn't just mean raspberries, apples etc. Beans, peas, courgettes, tomatoes, potatoes etc - anything that forms from a flower with benefit from this high potassium (K) tea! If you do a search on comfrey tea you'll be able to find more detailed instructions and a few pictures - so you know what you're looking for!.

You can also to the same thing with nettles... to make high nitrogen feed, for anything that produces a lot of greenery - brassicas, spinach, the lawn etc

You simply don't need to blow money on expensive plant food!!

Jimmer

[RedThorn]

quietly whispers... I sowed some beginning of feb... kept indoors for about 6 weeks then into the greenhouse and now outside... already ave courgettes that have set and about the thickness of my index finger... pollinated by hand and covered with 2 ft high mini poly tunnels when there's even a hint of frost/ cold night! NOTE: I'm also a lot further south!!!

[bobleponge]

To go back to the original title of this thread, I actually have planted some giant courgette plants. They are called Zucchetta, Serpenta Di Sicilia, and will grow to 2m in length. I have only planted 2, the rest of the seeds will be going into the seed swap pass the parcel. Will let you know how they get on.

[COMPOST CORNER]

Hi Tracy,

Big pots in the greenhouse is exactly right. Don't worry about staking - courgettes tend to sprawl wherever they like, and rarely stay upright. The little leaves you see are the very first leaves that the plant produced, these will more than likely just wither and fall off.

If you haven't done so already, now is the time to prepare the ground for their final positions. I dig a pit about a foot round and deep, and fill it with earth/compost/manure -let this 'brew' for 2-4 weeks before planting the plant. Remember they are hungry plants and need a lot of nutrients - so maybe mix some general purpose fertiliser in with the aforementioned 'brew'. Pits need to be about 3 feet apart, these plants get big!

Once the plants get going, they'll like a bit of potassium to help with 'fruit' production - so the occasional dose of tomatoe feed wouldn't go amiss - or comfrey tea if you've managed to create some!

Jimmer

Could I get away with fresh horse manure if I dug it now and left it for a few weeks, or does it need to be well rotted?

[RedThorn]

Could I get away with fresh horse manure if I dug it now and left it for a few weeks, or does it need to be well rotted?

Put it in a bucket then fill with water, enough to cover the manure. A week later pour the water out (not on the veggies) then use. This tip was given to me my a grape who's a part time pilot( you know who you are)

[zazen999]

To go back to the original title of this thread, I actually have planted some giant courgette plants. They are called Zucchetta, Serpenta Di Sicilia, and will grow to 2m in length. I have only planted 2, the rest of the seeds will be going into the seed swap pass the parcel. Will let you know how they get on.

The plants 2m or each courgette?


Just googled it - wow - those are big.

[bobleponge]

Each courgette apparently. Just popped its head above ground today, so will be put in place in a week or so.

[zazen999]

So many gags, not enough time.

[bobleponge]

As if I would

[smallblueplanet]

I've got some serpenta di sicilia and tromba de albenga growing, just germinated. They are a type of summer squash as opposed to what we commonly call courgettes (yes they're squash too!). The weather was too bad last year to get owt but small ones, I'm hoping for some longer fruit this year!

From a previous thread - Don Vincenzo (if he's still about) grows them.

sicilian snake seeds (edit - they are odd looking seeds compared to other cucurbits)