Help - my courgettes are rotting!

[Ricardo]

I need some help from you wizards please - my courgettes are starting to rot before they are big enough to harvest. I'm assuming this is because of the wonderful summer weather we are having.

Two different varieties (yellow is Parador F1, green is Nano Verde)

Is there anyting that can be done? These aren't just fruits that are sitting in contact with the ground, they are above ground level.

[Thelma Sanders]

it's the weather - you could cloche them but then you'd have to hand pollinate......

[rustylady]

It's the disgusting horrible weather, plus they probably haven't been pollinated (again due to the horrible wet weather - there aren't many flying beasties about at the mo)

[kathyd]

What a shame . Mind you, at least you HAVE some courgettes to go rotten! My plants are still at the 'thinking about whether to bother or not' stage! Depressing isn't it.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I see its the flower end thats rotting. I have been removing the flowers by hand this year as soon as the fruit starts to grow. It seemed that due to the weather the flower itself was going rotten on the plant before it fell of as part of the natural process and was passing on that rot to the fruit.

Colin

[binley100]

My plants just seem to be slug fodder......never had it happen before

[horticultural_hobbit]

Pfft, nothing but stumps left. all nine ten squashes, all gone. Silly a** slugs.

[MojoJojo]

I have a few courgettes - one looks very nibbled. Do mice like courgettes?

[binley100]

that'll be the snugs...........

[Ricardo]

Thats an interesting observation Colin. I'd not thought of that. I'll make sure that I remove the flowers on all the fruit that looks established and see if that helps. I'll report back with any results (good or bad). Thanks everybody for taking the time. To say that this year has thrown up challenges to veg gardeners is something of an understatement wouldn't you say? I had a c**p year last year as well. Maybe I'll not bother next year. Grump...

[planetologist]

Ricardo, try some perennials, they're doing fine.

[Rhona]

... It seemed that due to the weather the flower itself was going rotten on the plant before it fell of as part of the natural process and was passing on that rot to the fruit.

Yep, that's happening to ours. The few plants we have left have barely produced anything yet! We've burned through so many seeds this year; starting new plants off every couple of weeks, it's getting silly...

[Katy-Kay]

Hi all, I am new to this site. Found it this morning while desperately looking for answers to my courgette, stawberry and sunflower issues. The courgettes are doing nithing much. They have the occasional flower but then they go, is it slugs? Should I bring them inside?

The stawberries are splitting before I can get to them and then rotting onthe stem, I can only guess that its too much rain doing that to them?

And the sunflowers are staying at the height they were before I moved them. I am not put off though Everything else seems fine which is a relief!

[Potstubsdustbins]

Hi Katy and welcome to the madhouse.

If you pop your location onto your profile it will help when trying to give advice.

The strawberries and sunflowers you can pretty much put down to the weather.

The courgette problem could be one or two things what vareity is the plant? How old is it?

Colin

[Gemmalaveen]

A pesky slug(s) ate the growing point out of one of my courgette plants - I thought I was going to lose it but miraculously it bounced back.

I often find the first few courgettes on a plant rot because they aren't getting pollinated, then it takes off.