Courgettes

by **assassin** Fri May 20, 2022 4:19 am

Its been a few interesting weeks as our latest crop is now delivered and this is 100 courgette plants and each recipient has received 2 plants each as these should provide plenty of courgettes for a family of 5 right up until the frosts kill them off.

They are prolific croppers and often provide 2-3 crops per week averaging 5 small courgettes around 5" long which is handy as they don't last long but they are an excellent and nutritious food for families on low incomes and they are easily managed. They don't like bright, direct sunlight so a shaded spot is preferred with plenty of compost or muck in the soil or for pots a builders bucket or similar filled with compost is prefered, with drainage holes in the bottom and when the courgettes form a high potassium feed is preferred once a week such as Tomorite to maximise crops; you water the soil and NOT the leaves and it must be kept moist and not allowed to dry out for best cropping.

These are a crop many site members may like to consider and they can be grown in the garden or containers and get it right and you will be inundated with courgettes.

I have planted the remaining 17 plants inside a privet hedge because it is shaded for most of the day and gets full sun in the late evening and this patch of garden is muck rich anyway so they have plenty of nutrition. Most of their crops will go to the local food bank so those not receiving plants can still have some courgettes.

by **daveiron** Fri May 20, 2022 9:34 am

Got mine in builders buckets, Because of injury i have to containerise
everything. One point worth mentioning is the importance of moisture
retention especially if planted in containers , I would recommend chopped
straw placed around the plants ,its available from pet shops etc ,its very
tightly packed in bags & just 1 bag goes a long way.
Pollination is also critical especially with the decline in bee populations
so a small brush and pollinate them yourself should vastly increase your
yeald. Tiny fruit that turn yellow and rot are a sign that they have not been
fertilised.

by **Mrblue2015** Fri May 20, 2022 1:05 pm

Great posts gents, no one will ever go hungry following your respective, scientifically sound articles of advice.

by **assassin** Fri May 20, 2022 5:37 pm

They do take a lot of water Dave and I am glad you mentioned it, also they do not like being watered as this can cause mould on the leaves where the water hits them. You water the soil around them and not the actual plant itself.

Got plenty of bees and this year two colonies of honey bees in my mates hives producing their honey for is as well as the bumble bees which we also have a lot of as we have the right environment.

by **assassin** Fri May 20, 2022 5:39 pm

Mrblue2015 wrote:Great posts gents, no one will ever go hungry following your respective, scientifically sound articles of advice.

It all comes down to wholesome food in large quantities and if grown correctly courgettes are prolific croppers and produce lots of quality food for little input and cost

by aarons1950 Mon May 30, 2022 10:43 pm

I am growing crops this year in big storage crates - those black ones on wheels, cost £18 in Wicks. They hold 145L of compost, so there good for deep crops, carrots and such but not potatoes as there hard to get out, you need something you can tip over to get your spuds out. Holes drilled in the bottom of the crates, and the wheels keep them elivated off the ground. I only have a patio garden, and the planters in the garden centres are silly prices. I was in Wicks for something else and saw these and thought bingo. I reused compost from old pots, mixed with new compost and seaweed feed and everythings' growing ever so well.

by **assassin** Thu Jun 02, 2022 4:48 am

Good man, at least you will improve your own diet with fresh and toxin free food and you have used your initiative to create something to grow in which suits you and while your first year may appear to be less fruitful you have to remember that every failure is a learning experience and evey success is something to be built on.

I would suggest 3D growing if you have the room and this is that if possible you grow off the ground and I grow strawberries in hanging baskets and get a less than excellent crop because she keeps pinching them, gut a similar thought process may allow you to use any space you have.

by **assassin** Fri Jun 24, 2022 3:27 am

The courgettes are in full flow now and of the 50 people receiving their own plants, all of them have contributed many to the food bank and most bank members are getting or have had courgettes and we are absolutely swimming in them and they are one of those foods which keeps on giving and giving in huge quantities.

by **LionsShare** Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:46 am

this is a good thread

by memegirl777 Thu Sep 29, 2022 4:42 pm

I had not seen this thread until now so a bit late but I grew some sweetcorn from scratch this year ,
I interplanted them with my courgettes because they grow bolt upright so don't actually take up a lot of room ,
One tip I used which seems to of given success is soak the kernels in cold tea which breaks down the hard outer ,
This also works for anything with a hard outer ,
I also use pop bottles upside down stuck in the compost near the roots bottom cut off and neck buried , I water in to that and it makes sure water gets where it's needed deep down ,
I use the big timber shipping crates when I can get them for raised beds and I have tried carrots in bags off a you tube video ,
They're still growing , I also picked up a handy tip to make sure seeds don't dry out while germinating which is cover them them over until you see shoots appearing , so with my carrots I folded the top of the bags over and popped a cardboard briquette on top that was baking in the heat ,
I think this defiantly made a difference ,
I'll defiantly do carrots in bags next year and stagger them to 2 bags a week ( 5 carrots per bag ) depending on your bag size of course ,
I also bought this book second hand off ebay ,
It's got some good tips and ideas in ,
He is on you tube but you cant watch you tube when we have no power ,

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