[trimmy g]

Panic, our courgettes have been doing fine, had a few small courgettes off them in the last week or two, but have noticed over the last 2 or 3 days that some of the leaves are looking sickly, looking yellow and mottled, especially the new ones which are are sort of half yellow half green.   Noticed a couple of baby courgettes looking rotten at the end.  Have removed these courgettes, what else shall I do?

Also noticed that some of the runner bean leaves which are nearby are a bit yellowish too. 

Have given them all a good feed and water, I think the beans may have got a bit dry.  Tell me they're not gonners!! 

[mumofstig]

just continue with the watering when it is dry, and feed the courgettes and they will be fine. A bit of nice settled weather would help as well 

[fatcat1955]

Try not to get water on the leaves when you water them. Especially in the sun.

[barbarella]

It sounds like your courgettes have got blossom end rot.  That and the colour of the leaves mean mean a lack of calcium.  You could try feeding them with a liquid seaweed fertiliser, give them plenty of water and mulch with compost to retain moisture.

[mumofstig]

ooh I though blossom end rot/lack of calcium was a tomato problem

I thought that the rotting ends of the baby courgettes was either caused by the flower petals getting wet and starting rot  on the fruit, or lack of pollination in the first place.

[barbarella]

Apparently if affects curcurbits and peppers too.  If you get the Mail on Saturday check out Monty Don's advice in the magazine to someone  with the same problem.  Also follow this link:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/edible_gardening_plus/73178

where they say - Blossom end rot is one of the most common problems when growing tomatoes. Brownish-black leathery patches appear on the bottom of your tomatoes. It is also common on peppers, squash, eggplant, and melons.

It is caused by irregular watering which stops the plant taking up calcium from the soil so it doesn't necessarily mean the soil is deficient, but it wouldn't hurt to add something like liquid seaweed.

[DD.]

Blossom end rot is evident as "browish leathery patches" not rotting fruit.

This could just be a pollination issue.

However the mottled yellow leave is worrying as this could be a sign of mosaic virus.

[JayG]

I'd go for lack of pollination also; unpollinated fruits start to grow normally but then rot off from the flower end (sometimes pollinated fruit do as well if the weather is particularly wet; best to remove the shrivelled flower once it is easy to knock off.)

Some mottling of the leaves is quite normal in many courgettes, but perhaps not the type you describe. Having fed them, and hopefully with a bit of decent weather in the next few days they may pick up, otherwise I go with DD (mosaic virus) which unfortunately would mean digging up and destroying the plants.

Not quite time to panic yet! 

[DD.]

I did say could when it came to mosaic virus!

[alwayshopeful]

my courgettes too have yellow leaves.  Not got any courgettes off them yet, however this is a new yellow variety am trying this year.  My mum is trying the same variety and her leaves are also yellow!  The normal green courgettes have planted are okay with lovely green leaves.  Does this mean the yellow leaves has something to do with the variety?

[paintedlady]

I reckon it is too much rain, too cold and not enough sunlight (all this has a 2007 feel about it) - this past week we've had some really monsoon-like heavy downpours that have even caused some local flooding where I live, average temperatures plunged a good 10oC lower after that warm spell and it's been a cold, wet, grey miserable week.  Yellow leaves could also mean roots had got waterlogged after the rains?  As for courgettes or lack of - poor pollination brought on by the wet weather sounds very plausible to me.  No wonder the plants have objected!    My suggestion would be a feed to boost the nutrients washed out of the soil and a prayer for the sun to come back.

[antwilk]

i have three varieies on the go including yellow ones and all av the same symptoms as described they are still friuting tho so i av just continued as normal with feeding and watering they seem to be doing ok.

[Togalosh]

I was asking the same question this week as all our varieties of cucurbits are looking ill... :blink:..and was thinking it was more to do with how I planted them or poor soil (new land you see).

...but it looks like Verticillium Wilt. It says that young plants are susceptible to it in cold & wet conditions..which it has been on n off round here.

I have been jiggin about my plot with a parakeet feather behind my ear like shaman at a sun dancing competition in the hope of getting the sunshine to return..