courgettes

recently filled raised beds with good riddled soil from top of plot thats been there years and had good results with everything ive put in EXCEPT courgettes they just wont grow in there so if anyone knows why please tell coz its driving me nuts, the soil is from years of putting waste up there [not me] and i have added ash to it [wood] but also put tree chippings round the courgette [tree was chopped down the day before and turned into mulch so wondered if that could be a factor too.

 

Welcome to the forum Orangepeel.
I'll Just number my points.
Courgettes are not hardy, they won't do well in the cold !
Did you plant them as seeds, or were they well hardened off plants ? They really do need to be hardened off quite carefully.
Tree chippings ? Well uncomposted wood depletes the soil of nitrogen as it decomposes and won't do anything anygood but if it was only put there yesterday I doubt that is your problem.
I would put your failure on temperature and too early for courgettes.
Those plants will probably pick up as the year goes on - if the frost doesn't get them.
You could always try to save them with some fleece over their heads - but it's frosty tonight.

 

Hi Alice thanks for the welcome, i actually grew them in pots in the g/house and they were put straight into the ground. I didnt realise the chippings did that so ill take them off and leave them to dry out til next year. Ive put a few more in the g/house so will wait until the weather gets a bit nicer before i plant these ones out, thanks for the advice i know where to come in future.

 

Hi Orangepeel. I hope your second sowing of courgettes will get on better.
I won't be planting my courgette seeds until next week as the young plants are pretty tender and just sulk in the cold.
They are fast growing and early fruiting so next week is plenty of time.
Hope yours do great.

 

In Newcastle I would not put Courgettes out until beginning of June - they cannot stand being frosted. I am further South than you and I aim to plant out last week in May.
They are also heavy feeders so if you have any good garden compost or can get hold of well rotted manure give it to the courgettes. They need good drainage and plenty of sun while growing but must not go short of water. They have big floppy leaves and grow fast so that means plenty of food and plenty of water. I have difficulty keeping on top of mine. one minute it is a flower, the next it is 1/2 way to a big marrow.

 

I wish id known earlier Alice haha but like anything its a learning curve so mistakes have to be made to learn. Have you any ideas of how to cook them or what to cook them with?

 

june i think i was a wee bit early then. i just read the back of the packet and thought yeah thats fine, thanks for the tip Geoff

 

Just having them as a vegetable, like my mother in law used to do, well they don't taste of anything much. my wife uses them in ratatouie -onion, garlic, aubergine, mushroom, tomato and she uses them in soup.

 

Stir fry or try using a beer batter. They don't take much cooking. My favourite is on skewers on a BBQ with onion, sweet pepper, mushrooms and some kind of meat.

 

If the chippings are on top of the soil rather than in it I'd not worry too much, as IMHO they'll not deplete nitrogen at root level to any significant degree, but will act as a moisture retaining barrier.

I've for the past umpteen years always had my courgettes planted out in early May, but
I always give them some protection until the end of the month by using two glass cloches on their sides for each plant with a sheet of glass on top. Fleece would probably suffice.#
This year my courgettes were sown in the greenhouse on 10th April and planted two weeks ago.