[oldcow]

One of my two courgette plants, that was doing wonderfully until a few days ago and has produced several courgettes, has some problem I'd like some help identifying.
The female flowers, before they have a chance to get big enough to open, start rotting at the bottom, where they're attached to the tiny courgette-to-be.
Also, these little courgettes are yellow-ish, instead of the light green colour the previous ones had (it's a White Trieste Cousa). Some of the old leaves look out of sort (dry or yellow area) but then that's happened to both this plant and the other one I have, and it didn't seem to cause any problem with the fruits; the newer leaves look fine. I had to fight blackflies invasions on them, but in the last week they seemed to have finally gone.
The plants are being grown in a large, deep pot, with rich, well draining soil and I give them a weekly feed with comfrey tea. The fruits are high on the plant, and do not get wet when I water the plants.

[madcat]

My guess is they are hungry if the fruit is yellowy and they aren't investing the energy in the flowers.  If the leaves are fine and green then they are getting enough nitrogen from the comfrey and need a boost in the the P-K of fertilizers.  I would try sulphate of potash ... something aimed at flowers and fruit. 

[oldcow]

I thought that comfrey was high in P-K, from what I had read in the forum.. If it's instead high in nitrogen, I've been feeding my tomatoes incorrectly too!!!

[madcat]

Maybe I'm wrong   - no doubt someone else will turn up and put us right ..

John thinks comfrey tea is good for the tomatoes on this page

meanwhile google calls, somewhere there must be something ..  

[JayG]

If you google "comfrey tea NPK" you will get plenty of answers; it's got all 3 major nutrients in but is quite high in potassium (K)

You could try something like tomato fertiliser just in case your comfrey tea is missing some important trace element, you should also keep an eye on those yellowing leaves; it's an unfortunate fact that aphids can transfer viruses from one plant to another via their sap-sucking activities.

[termon]

Hi everyone. This is my first time growing courgettes and it's not going well.  All the leaves are yellow and the fruits are very small and yellow.  They were okay until the heavy rain.  Some of the leaves are lying on the floor and getting brown patches now.  It seems to have stopped growing.  I have been feeding them with tomato feed and I've tried giving plenty of water.  I'm at the point where I'm going to rip the last one up as I have done already with the other.  I'm growing it in soil which has been manured but not used for growing before.

[sunshineband]

I've merged these two threads as they are such similar enquiries   

[goose]

i am getting to the stage where i am happy if they turn yellow and drop off.....my fridge is full of the courgette glut.  i am going to have to find time to do something with them soon

however, to answer the point, it happens on my plants quite often if they have not been polinated properly.  i just snap any dodgy looking ones off and before you know it you will have lots more courgettes threatening to become marrows

some of my older leaves look quite sad too.  in the past i have sometimes cut the sad looking ones off to no ill effect.  i am sure courgettes are really triffids , they will come good in the end.  even my neglected one at the plot is producing more than i can use. :happy:

[oldcow]

I don't think it's a pollination problem, since the courgettes go wrong before the flower has any chance to open. I have plenty of bees around, and I do hand pollinate them anyway just in case, but you can't pollinate a flower that is too small to open...

[Christine]

Your feeding and watering sound fine to me oldcow but I suspect that the pot may be the root of the problem (no joke intended honest). It could well be pot bound. You don't don't realise till you pull them up, just how far the roots go. And once they are fruiting, well you can't repot can you? Unless you have your pot in a place where there are draughts or sudden eddies of wind of course - courgettes don't like that.

You would possibly do better next year to find a space in the ground so that the roots have room to spread out. If you can build yourself a compost heap or fill up a cold frame with good compost for next year then you will have a better place to grow courgettes. The only other no no so far as I know is fresh farmyard manure.

[Manlea1]

Once the courgettes are the size of a marker pen i snap the flowers off and so far touch wood they have produced some nice courgettes 

[oldcow]

Thanks for the advice, I removed all the leaves that were not looking perfectly healthy. As for the pots, Christine, as you say it's too late for repotting, if that's the problem.
I have very little space, so I had chosen pots to use the patio. If they can't be grown in containers, I'm afraid I'll have to give them up next year. I thought I'd be OK since I chose large, deep containers; does anyone have any idea about what would be the right size container for courgettes?

[Comfortably Numb]

If the roots are growing through the bottom of the pot, you could place the pot on/in a growbag to let the roots explore a larger area 

[sunshineband]

I have never had much success with courgettes in pots as keeping up with food and water is so difficult 

OK in a growbag though the year before-- just one in the middle, with the bag propped up on its side so there is a better depth of soil.

You could try something like a middle sized half barrel maybe, next year