Omg!!

[hiyatim]

i went away from friday until today, getting my sisters to water my veg...i just went out to the garden and look whats there

IMG_0219.jpg

the bees were buzzing around all the flowers so things are looking good. Now theres always questions attached to my posts so here goes...

1. shall i start giving these some tomato food now??

2. How often shall i feed them??

3. how will i know when to harvest this, is there a best length??

4. when i do harvest it how do i go about it??

(its the black beauty courgette btw )

[Hollie the Wollie]

Ohh my that's a big 'un!

[Lesley Jay]

Hiya Tim! That courgette looks flippin' good - I can almost taste my courgette frittata!! I always use secateurs to cut the courgettes off the plant by cutting through the thick stem that attaches the courgette to the plant. You harvest the courgettes when they are the size that you want them - either baby sized to BBQ or griddle whole or a bit larger for slicing, but if you let them grow big then the plant will stop producing fruits. As for feeding the plants, well I give them a weekly feed with organic seaweed feed but they do like tomato feed.

[hiyatim]

Originally Posted by Hollie the Wollie

Ohh my that's a big 'un!

lol, its a grower

[hiyatim]

Originally Posted by Lesley Jay

You harvest the courgettes when they are the size that you want them - either baby sized to BBQ or griddle whole or a bit larger for slicing, but if you let them grow big then the plant will stop producing fruits.

Thanks again for the info lesley, the thing is i want to produce a good amount of courgettes as a few people have asked me for some, but ive never bought a courgette or even looked at one in the shop so i have no idea what so ever on sizes, for all i know they grow as big as a cucumber

i would like to use them for slicing i think so would you say about 6 inches??

this one had a flower on the end when i went away on friday and now its a big fruit within 3 days didnt know they grew that fast

[hiyatim]

also... this courgette is only a 6 inch pot, would it benifit going into a larger pot from the supermarket or is it too late to disturb it??

[Lesley Jay]

Yes, Tim the plant does need a bigger container. You need one at least 10 inches (25cms) in diameter and 12 inches (30cms) deep. That is the size that I use. But, you need to be careful transplanting it as it is already flowering and fruiting. Try and keep the roots and the original compost from the 6 inch pot intact when changing containers so that the plant doesn't realise it has been transplanted. (We don't want to upset it! ) Then feed it.

Courgettes do grow damn quick. You can harvest them any size you like but if you leave them to grow massive like marrows then the plant stops producing fruit. I would say 6 - 8 inches is a good size for courgettes but my Australian neighbour at the allotments would harvest them tiny, still with the flower attached to BBQ whole. With courgettes the more you harvest them and the more courgettes grow!!