Courgettes, Cucumbers & Aubergines

When they say "ideal for Patios" That would only be in a hot summer really, Aubergines are a greenhouse crop if you want to get them to a decent size IME.

 

Hiya F/C

Your Courgettes, where did you grow them? I grew some last year in a quite large pot, and I did get a few fruits, but nowhere near as many compared with when I grew them in the ground.

 

I do agree with you Zig if it was the run of the mill but that variety that FC is asking about only grow to the size of a tennis ball so "if" warm and sunny would do ok on a patio

 

Aubergines in greenhouse only, not worth it outside IMHO

Cucumbers in the greenhouse - get an F1 all-female variety. No point buying seed IMHO. Hugely expensive, and as the saying goes young cucumber plants "Wake up each morning thinking of a new way to die". I buy plants from garden centre in the Spring, usually cheaper than the cost of F1 all-female seed, always cheaper after taking into account the number of seedlings that would have died in my care!

However, I did buy two packets of F1 Bella in the sales last Autumn because they were 50p-a packet. The sticker price of the seeds was £5.00 for 4 seeds, so if you can get plants for £1.25 each then you are on a winner

Courgettes - I only grow a boring variety, can't remember the name, something like "Green Bush" I think. It does just fine. I personally don't have much faith in T&M seeds. Lots of marketing hype, loads of new varieties every year, touted as "Much better" but then seemingly many disappear after a few years ... if you have room for, say, 4 courgette plants maybe try 4 different varieties and see how you get on?

 

I haven't grown Bella F1 cues @fat controller but did grow Carmen F1's last year and will be growing again this....first year ever where powdery mildew hasn't been an issue

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/vege...ource=google&gclid=CK7miKPT6rsCFWnjwgodmzEAYA

 

My experience with growing courgettes in pots is that they are OK at first but fall prey to powdery mildew as it's hard to keep them consistently watered. I wouldn't bother with these fancy varieties, choose a standard one and put it in the ground. I think all this container veg stuff is just a fad, most things grow and produce far better with their toes in a decent bit of ground. Was there any particular reason they had to be in pots? The temperatures at planting out time can be crucial as there are often very cold nights at the start of June, if the young plants get chilled they don't recover easily. Probably best to put them under a cloche, or sow a seed beside each plant to pick up the baton if the first one looks peaky, or have a few spares in the green house.

I think aubergines are a much harder crop to grow properly than onions, I would stick with the latter!

 

Even from sets?

Agreed!

My main problem with courgettes was blooming mice and slugs, I can't bring myself to kill anything though (it's a problem I'm trying to deal with, haha).

 

I am sticking with my climbing courgettes "Black Forest" sits nicely in the corner of the greenhouse 3 canes tied into a wigwam , and had the last ones in November.

Did try El Greco , and it did set early but ran out of steam come August !!

Not bothering with any yellow Courgettes again waste of time they dont produce that many & tough skins , I have tried the round courgettes and very tasty baked in the oven , I filled with sausage meat , cheese and onion, I even put a whole tomato with goats cheese filling all look great on a plate , dead easy to cook on a barbecue as well .

I am hungry now

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Cucumbers

Doesn't stop me buying some hugely reduced seeds every year and having them all die every year before falling back on outdoor cucumbers.

Aubergines

Aubergines are aphid magnets.

Courgettes

I've never managed to successfully grow them in pots, but they thrive when grown outdoors through mulch mats. Yellow courgettes seem more difficult to germinate, grow and crop but add a nice splash of colour to meals. And yes, yellow courgettes do have a tougher skin, but that makes them all the better to cut into strips and use with dips.