[Rizo]

When can they be harvested?
as in size wise and how long can they stay attached for in size?

also do i just use a sharp knife and cut then off at the beginning on the fruit?

sorry for the questions but overnight they have had a monster growing session, got 3 about 5 inches long  courgettes that is 


Jon

[Livinhope]

The longer you leave courgettes the bigger they grow and you end up with marrows.  Size depends on personal taste.  I cut two last night which were both 7 inches long, but they can be cut smaller (say 3 inches) and cooked whole, in this case you would have three or four per person.  I personally cut the stem in half so that there is about 1/2 inch still attached to the fruit.  No doubt you will get a variety of answers.

[zazen999]

I cut them from anything between 3 to 7 inches; mainly because if you leave them they get too fluffy inside and I like courgettes not marrows. I would rather have a few smaller ones and them keep coming than fewer large ones.

I currently have 10 in the fridge, all 5-7 inches - we are picking 5-6 a day and 10-12 if we leave it a couple of days.....:eek:

[Trillium]

I too prefer them no longer than about 5". I missed a few that turned into baseball bats and they weren't nice at all, particularly all the large seeds    But a few of the huge ones will get turned into a wonderful relish for hot dogs, sausages and hamburgers.

[Rizo]

thanks for all your replies

I'm going to leave them till tomorrow afternoon before i pick them.

I got another 8 forming  i can see i'm having courgettes with everything for the next few weeks 

[mumofstig]

Don't you mean the next few months   

[Rizo]

do they keep growing flowers/courgettes then?

once i cut them off will it grow another?

[DD.]

Yes and yes.

[WirralWally]

Rizo,

DD's answer is a simple way of answering your question.

Anyone who has previously grown courgettes will be able to tell you that you cannot stop them producing fruit until the first frosts kill them off.

Never turn your back on a courgette plant because, as soon as you do, it will produce more courgettes or double/treble the size of the existing ones. 

[titch]

I used some surplus ones in chutney last year - any chutney I made had courgette in!! Without the sins they made a wonderful bulking agent so my chutneys went further.
For some reason I thought planting five plants instead of two this year was a good idea, going to be making a lot more chutney this year I think, plus keeping work mates in courgettes

[PennyS]

I used some surplus ones in chutney last year - any chutney I made had courgette in!! Without the sins they made a wonderful bulking agent so my chutneys went further.
For some reason I thought planting five plants instead of two this year was a good idea, going to be making a lot more chutney this year I think, plus keeping work mates in courgettes

I've got five as well ! (got all my courgettes, squashes and pumpkins mixed up in transit to the lotty so I wasn't entirely sure what I'd planted out until a few weeks later !!).
I'm giving away lots but also making courgette soup for the freezer.

[DD.]

Without the sins they made a wonderful bulking agent

Where do you get these "holier than thou" courgettes from?

[Babstreefern]

I've got yellow round ones this year instead of the usual banana shaped green ones.  And yes, they keeping coming.  I must have missed one when I last picked them, because its the size of a honeydew melon

[Snoop]

The folklore round these parts is that you get a courgette flower for every leaf. I'm not sure if that's really true or not.

[potatogrower]

i remembered when i 1st started growing, i grew 5 courgette plants and every 2 or 3 days we had 4 courgettes to pick and cook, got a bit bored of them after a while and gave a few away. soon we left a few and they turned into massive marrows, which we did not cook because we didn't know what to do with them     , eventually they rotted away and threw them out. bottom shelf of the fridge had a few lying around which we forgot about and threw them away.

we have them slightly bigger about 10" but i think the smaller the better the taste.