17 July, 2008

Courgettes and squashes

These aren't going quite as well as hoped or expected.

Something - no idea what, there's such a large choice - is eating my Marina di Chioggia squash flowers and then squashes so that I now have two enormous plants with a spread of at least 6 feet, but no real squash action.

The Golden Apple squashes seem to be doing better. They are certainly more prolific and there are small squashes growing in several places. Currently c. 4 cm in diameter and green.

Lastly the courgettes. I'm growing two varieties. Genovese for the standard type and Rondo di Nizza, which are round (obviously). My neighbour's (which I propagated, grrrrr) are doing really well and we've eaten 3 of their beauties so far. Mine are producing courgettes but they are small, undersized and then when the flower drops off the end, often having been eaten by something first, they start to rot from one end. I'm picking what I can which isn't much right now. So much for a glut.

Lesson learned for next year is that I shall put the courgettes and squashes in their own bed, raised, where I can keep a better eye on them and the pests which are clearly having too good a time with them. However I also suspect that the weather isn't helping. It's just too wet and not sunny or warm enough. Maybe I should stop trying for the Mediterranean diet when I live in Wales. I won't even mention the aubergines... mother was right.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We've got ours in a raised bed...it helps as the beasties can't get in as easy. I found this year that once you begin to harvest the smaller ones, the plant goes nuts and starts producing like it's life depends on it!