Courgettes - growing tips eaten

[Happymouse]

The growing tips on half of my Courgettes have been eaten. What are their chances of survival please ?
The roots are fine - just a massive pair of seed leaves remain.

[Jenny Green]

I thought from your title that mice had eaten the paper the growing tips were written on! And I've only had one bottle of beer this evening.
Anyway they'll probably send up some shoots from the bases of the seed leaves. Why don't you quickly sow some more and keep a hold of the current ones thus hedging your bets?

[SANDRA]

I'm having the same problem, my courgettes are stunted. They flower, the flower dies and the courgette starts to grow, but then they start to shrink and die, any hints as to what I am doing wrong?????

[tricia]

Sandra, you aren't doing anything wrong. It often happens with courgettes that they produce lots of female babies but there are no male flowers around to fertilize them, so they start to rot at the flower end. Don't worry, the male flowers will eventually appear at the same time as the female ones. It's just a lack of co-ordination in young plants My plants are the same - lots of lovely female flowers, but not a male one in sight. Oh well! It's well known that girls mature earlier than boys, isn't it?

[SANDRA]

Thanks Tricia, thats great news, as I was close to throwingin the trowel with them.