Any suggestions?
Thanks
Courgette problems
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The Novice
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- Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2007 10:10 pm
- Location: Perthshire, Scotland
Can anyone help? I have 1 courgette plant that he slugs did not destroy entirely. It is producing flowers and courgettes, but before they are much more than 2.5 - 3 inches long, the flower is rotting and the rot is continuing down the courgette leaving it a brown mush. They are in the polytunnel, but I have had both ends of the tunnel open on warm days and it hasn't been too humid in there.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Any suggestions?
Thanks
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alan refail
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- Location: Chwilog Gogledd Orllewin Cymru Northwest Wales
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Cred air o bob deg a glywi, a thi a gei rywfaint bach o wir (hen ddihareb Gymraeg)
Believe one tenth of what you hear, and you will get some little truth (old Welsh proverb)
Believe one tenth of what you hear, and you will get some little truth (old Welsh proverb)
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The Novice
- KG Regular
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- Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2007 10:10 pm
- Location: Perthshire, Scotland
Hi Alan
Thank you. Pretty daft of me but it didn't occur to me that it wasn't self pollinating all female flowers!
It seems to be a bit of a problem this year for me. My runner beans have produced hundreds of flowers, and only one bean. Despite shaking and tickling (as a friend of mine puts it), there is nothing. Did try to rub a few flowers together on that but they just fell off, and only 1 of my dwarf bean plants has any beans on. Very strange. Perhaps it is just that they are better outside where they can get pollinated more easily. Ah I didn't choose my name for nothing!!
Thank you again.
I shall go and start rubbing flowers together.
Kirsten
Thank you. Pretty daft of me but it didn't occur to me that it wasn't self pollinating all female flowers!
It seems to be a bit of a problem this year for me. My runner beans have produced hundreds of flowers, and only one bean. Despite shaking and tickling (as a friend of mine puts it), there is nothing. Did try to rub a few flowers together on that but they just fell off, and only 1 of my dwarf bean plants has any beans on. Very strange. Perhaps it is just that they are better outside where they can get pollinated more easily. Ah I didn't choose my name for nothing!!
Thank you again.
I shall go and start rubbing flowers together.
Kirsten
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alan refail
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Dear Kirsten
If you live in Scotland and grow in a polytunnel, you're no novice
Better than outside I'd guess.
Beans again are lack of pollination, as you know. If I were you I'd try keeping the tunnel open even on bad days. If I were a bee on a day like today (piso bwrw - Welsh for "raining hard"!), I'd head for the nearest tunnel and get to the flowers.
Alan
If you live in Scotland and grow in a polytunnel, you're no novice
Better than outside I'd guess.
Beans again are lack of pollination, as you know. If I were you I'd try keeping the tunnel open even on bad days. If I were a bee on a day like today (piso bwrw - Welsh for "raining hard"!), I'd head for the nearest tunnel and get to the flowers.
Alan
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The Novice
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Hi Alan
Only my 3rd summer at growing veg so am really still testing things out. After year 1 I decided the only way I would grow veg such as sweetcorn etc, was to have a polytunnel as the season just wasn't long enough for them to ripen and the greenhouse wasn't big enough. As it happened I came across someone who was selling theirs and so I bought it at a very reasonable price. I absolutely love it. I could quite cheerfully spend all day in it, but alas, I also have to work.
I shall try leaving it open all the time and see if that helps. It has a window in one end which is always open but the doors are only normally open when it is warm out. It's quite soul destroying to see all those beautiful orange flowers on the plants and not a bean in sight! I have quite a bit of ground though so I think I shall put all my beans and squashes outside next year and buy in some nematodes really early on (blessed slugs....do they serve any practical purpose?).
Thanks for the advice. Having found this site I suspect I may be here with lots of questions especially as we are getting 3 pigs next week and hope to have some chickens soon too.
Kirsten
P.S. I'm from Wales too although not proper Welsh Wales like you. I'm from Penarth, South Wales.
Only my 3rd summer at growing veg so am really still testing things out. After year 1 I decided the only way I would grow veg such as sweetcorn etc, was to have a polytunnel as the season just wasn't long enough for them to ripen and the greenhouse wasn't big enough. As it happened I came across someone who was selling theirs and so I bought it at a very reasonable price. I absolutely love it. I could quite cheerfully spend all day in it, but alas, I also have to work.
I shall try leaving it open all the time and see if that helps. It has a window in one end which is always open but the doors are only normally open when it is warm out. It's quite soul destroying to see all those beautiful orange flowers on the plants and not a bean in sight! I have quite a bit of ground though so I think I shall put all my beans and squashes outside next year and buy in some nematodes really early on (blessed slugs....do they serve any practical purpose?).
Thanks for the advice. Having found this site I suspect I may be here with lots of questions especially as we are getting 3 pigs next week and hope to have some chickens soon too.
Kirsten
P.S. I'm from Wales too although not proper Welsh Wales like you. I'm from Penarth, South Wales.
Hi Novice,
I gather from your letter that you are growing Runner Beans in your tunnel. Runners need pollinating by Bees (mainly) and Bees for some unknown reason are generally reluctant to enter tunnels. The Bean for you in the tunnel are French Climbing Beans because these are self fertile and I have in the past had great results from them.
As regards Squashes it is probably best to hand pollinate them in tunnels. To a degree Squashes seem to fertilize themselves but I suspect that wind plays a large part in it and in the tunnel wind is
just not available.
Do ask as many questions as you like and if you ever get a reply that you do not fully understand do not suffer in silence sing out loud and clear!
JB.
I gather from your letter that you are growing Runner Beans in your tunnel. Runners need pollinating by Bees (mainly) and Bees for some unknown reason are generally reluctant to enter tunnels. The Bean for you in the tunnel are French Climbing Beans because these are self fertile and I have in the past had great results from them.
As regards Squashes it is probably best to hand pollinate them in tunnels. To a degree Squashes seem to fertilize themselves but I suspect that wind plays a large part in it and in the tunnel wind is
just not available.
Do ask as many questions as you like and if you ever get a reply that you do not fully understand do not suffer in silence sing out loud and clear!
JB.
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alan refail
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Johnboy
I too have great results from climbing French beans in the tunnel. Currently we have a glut. I have never tried Runners inside,
Kirsten
Thanks for your comment "P.S. I'm from Wales too although not proper Welsh Wales like you. I'm from Penarth, South Wales." To be honest, I'm as Welsh as this: born and brought up in Lancashire, 40 years living in Yorkshire, 7 years living in Wales. After such a short time and speaking Welsh every day, I feel I've been here all my life.
A gyda llaw, mae'n dal i biso bwrw (And by the way, it's still pissing down).
Alan
I too have great results from climbing French beans in the tunnel. Currently we have a glut. I have never tried Runners inside,
Kirsten
Thanks for your comment "P.S. I'm from Wales too although not proper Welsh Wales like you. I'm from Penarth, South Wales." To be honest, I'm as Welsh as this: born and brought up in Lancashire, 40 years living in Yorkshire, 7 years living in Wales. After such a short time and speaking Welsh every day, I feel I've been here all my life.
A gyda llaw, mae'n dal i biso bwrw (And by the way, it's still pissing down).
Alan
Cred air o bob deg a glywi, a thi a gei rywfaint bach o wir (hen ddihareb Gymraeg)
Believe one tenth of what you hear, and you will get some little truth (old Welsh proverb)
Believe one tenth of what you hear, and you will get some little truth (old Welsh proverb)
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The Novice
- KG Regular
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2007 10:10 pm
- Location: Perthshire, Scotland
JB Thanks for the info on the beans. I'll try those ones and also for your encouragement to ask questions. Will do....in abundance! 
Alan
I can't believe you speak Welsh and have only been there 8 years! They tried to teach me Welsh in school for what seemed like an eternity and it never really stuck.
I was actually born in in Rugby, Warwickshire but moved to Wales as a baby so don't remember living there at all. I moved to Scotland 10 years ago and love it here. There are of course similarities between Wales and Scotland. At present it sounds like the weather is one of them!
I think I bought a little piece of heaven on earth when we moved to where we are just now. 2 miles from town, surrounded by farmland and woodland. 4 acres to play with. If only my house wasn't falling down, it'd be perfect!
Anyone any good at roofing?
Kirsten
Alan
I can't believe you speak Welsh and have only been there 8 years! They tried to teach me Welsh in school for what seemed like an eternity and it never really stuck.
I was actually born in in Rugby, Warwickshire but moved to Wales as a baby so don't remember living there at all. I moved to Scotland 10 years ago and love it here. There are of course similarities between Wales and Scotland. At present it sounds like the weather is one of them!
I think I bought a little piece of heaven on earth when we moved to where we are just now. 2 miles from town, surrounded by farmland and woodland. 4 acres to play with. If only my house wasn't falling down, it'd be perfect!
Anyone any good at roofing?
Kirsten