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Courgette pot size

helena.napierhelena.napier Posts: 2
in Fruit & veg
Hello! I am growing six courgette plants, and they're coming along nicely! They're currently in quite a small pot size: I'd say maybe around 20-22cm. From what I've read, they do need bigger plant pots, but I just want to make sure that this is the case. What would happen if I left them? Would they not produce as much veg? Should I definitely repot them? What would the optimal pot size be? Unfortunately I can't plant them into the ground. Thanks!

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited May 2020
    Hi @helena.napier and welcome 😊 

    They need as big pots as you can manage ... bush courgettes occupy a space above ground of around 1m x 1m ... when I’ve pulled mine up at the end of the season the roots have occupied an area of soil at least half that. 

    They will struggle to produce flowers and fruit without enough space. The roots will fill the pots and the plants will become potbound ... it will be impossible to feed and water them adequately and the likelihood is that they will be stressed and succumb to disease such as powdery mildew ... and die. ☹️ 

    It’s well worth getting some really big pots ... they’ll repay you. 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • PlashingPlashing Posts: 328
    Ask a garage if they have any old car tyres they don't want I get them the garage my son works at they very handy to grow courgettes squashes in,I always line the bottom of the the tyre to stop weeds growing through and if you cut the bottom off any empty water bottle and push the neck end in the soil,it makes watering and feeding a lot easier,also you aren't splashing  the plant. I sometimes  stack one on top to make it deeper,the are 14" diameter x 8" deep.
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    I tried them in various pots - 30cm but narrowing quickly (only 10l volume), 30-35cm cylindrical pots (15l), builder's buckets (14l I think) and 40l grow bags. I prefer the 30-35cm cylindrical pots, they gave me the best balance between the plants' happiness (=production) and the compost cost. But I have to say the one I tried in the 40l bag was a bad variety, I don't know what a good one would do there. I now have space in the ground and don't use pots anymore.
  • WildFlower_UKWildFlower_UK Posts: 236
    I'm growing courgettes for the first time this year so am by no means an expert! But everything I've read and researched tells me that courgettes need decent room, at least a 45cm (diameter and height) pot or in the ground with 1m between it and the next plant. I'm growing in a 50cm pot and one in a wooden planter I made (90cmx45cmx40cm). Good luck!

    If any courgette experts have any advice for my recent post about courgette leave discolouring, I'd be very appreciative! 
    "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need"
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    We have grown courgettes in 55cm pots, with no problem, although they need regular watering.  We have also grown them in the bags you can buy for growing potatoes.


  • Womble54Womble54 Posts: 348
    I grow mine in 50L pots and they do pretty well. But they do need regular watering. 


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