[sazmonster]

I'm growing a couple of marrow plants, one in ground, one a pot and one in a bag of manure.  I have watered and fed (they seem to like boddies)  but I'm not sure what to do with cutting off shoots.

The biggest is about 3ft long but the 1st fruit is 2 foot from the plant.

What are you supposed to chop off - side shoots etc?  Could do with an idiot's guide, the books I have got seem to assume I know what I am doing!

Thanks (in hope someone can!)

Sara

[Salmo]

If you want big marrows pinch out the tip about 6 leaves beyond a fruit and do not let any more form on that runner.

If you want a supply of kitchen sized fruit let the runners run and produce fruit as they will. You can bend the runners round and peg them down if you need to confine them. They can be allowed to scramble on fences or frames but the fruit will often crack or break the stems as they grow. Eat some young as courgettes and let some grow bigger. Select good ones to allow to ripen for keeping through the Winter.

[sazmonster]

Thank you for that!!  I thought you had to cut stems and big things.

Anyway how do you make them grow?  I have got a new jungle in the garden with 2 (touch wood) successful fruits but they haven't got any bigger in a week.  A fellow village gardener once told me that they only increase in size over 20 days - that means I have only 11-12 days of growing if that is correct and I can't see them being anywhere near what I need to enter our village show!!

My courgette plants are producing larger things every other day
 than these so called 'giant marrows'!