HELP - COURGETTES!

My courgettes have come up but are very long and flopping over - what have I done and what can I do? :( :rolleyes:

 

Courgettes tend to shoot up like rockets when young and are a bit floppy until planted out and the main stem starts to thicken up. The natural floppiness can cause problems if it is very windy during early stages of development. I lost one plant last year due to the stem getting twisted about too much.
It's probably a bit early (certainly is here) to plant them out so I'd pot them on into 3 or 4 inch pots and add a bit of extra compost around the base of the stems but don't over-water or they could rot.
Just a thought - Did the plants have plently of light so they were not drawn upwards?

 

If you dont mind me butting in, I've had the same problem, flopping about when planted out, with marrows.
I usually put some short sticks in a circle around the plant, so the leaf stems have something to stop them twisting the main stem

 

The sticks are a great idea Pete - I'll use that one this year.
What I usually do when the plants are young is put two glass cloches on edge so that the plants are boxed in and sheltered. I took them off too soon last year!!

 

Yes Dave I,ve done something similar in the past, but at some point you have to take it away and the leaves get bigger and bigger as you know, and the bigger they are the better at catching the wind. :(

 

Thanks for your replies - they were on the windowsill so I think they had enough light - I put some more compost around them cos they are in 3"pots now - I will try the sticks tomorrow

 

Marge, you shouldn't need sticks until you plant them out. The plants will be fine so long as they are nor being battered by the wind.
It's difficult for me at about 500 miles north of you to judge your climate but you may be a bit early with them. I'd be tempted to sow a couple more now.

 

They are in the greenhouse now - its not warm enough yet to put them out - maybe Ill get some more going as you say

 

Marge as Dave says I think you are a bit early, your a bit nearer to my end of the country.
I always reckon on six weeks to planting out from seed sowing for the likes of cucumber, marrow, courgette etc.
I usually wait till the last week in May or the first in June for planting out, you can go earlier if you cover with a closhe, but I think it all catches up anyway, they are better, I think, if they are grown a bit hard but these are quite tender types of plant so you have to be careful.