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Courgette end rot
dogfonos
Posts: 5
Would appreciate views on the problem that has plagued me for many years...
Nearly all my courgettes begin to soften and rot at the flower end when they are between about 2 and 4 inches in length. Left on the plant, the attached end continues to grow normally (thick, dark green) whilst the flower end of the courgette withers and, if left, rots away. This has been the case for several years now and affects all courgette varieties I've grown. Every courgette plant is blighted in this way - both grown in container outside and in a raised veg. bed.
Container grown courgettes and those grown in raised bed have fresh compost each year and I practice crop rotation. Going back maybe 6 or 7 years, this flower end rot barely occurred and I'm not doing anything different these days in terms of how I treat/grow the plants. I'm baffled.
I've investigated a few possible causes of the problem such as blossom end rot (photos of plants affected by blossom end rot don't look quite the same as mine - but who knows), lack of calcium (plenty of egg shell fragments in my home made compost which I've used over the years for some plants, other plants have been grown in commercial compost), inconsistent watering, poor quality or contaminated compost/soil but have yet to find an answer.
I should add that there are, and have been in recent years, quite a few ants on the plants - they seem keen to get inside the flowers - maybe that's an issue? Also, there is now only a small amount of garden soil present in the raised veg. beds and I don't use any garden soil in the containers.
If I can't sort out the problem this year, I'll have to give up growing courgettes. Please help.
Nearly all my courgettes begin to soften and rot at the flower end when they are between about 2 and 4 inches in length. Left on the plant, the attached end continues to grow normally (thick, dark green) whilst the flower end of the courgette withers and, if left, rots away. This has been the case for several years now and affects all courgette varieties I've grown. Every courgette plant is blighted in this way - both grown in container outside and in a raised veg. bed.
Container grown courgettes and those grown in raised bed have fresh compost each year and I practice crop rotation. Going back maybe 6 or 7 years, this flower end rot barely occurred and I'm not doing anything different these days in terms of how I treat/grow the plants. I'm baffled.
I've investigated a few possible causes of the problem such as blossom end rot (photos of plants affected by blossom end rot don't look quite the same as mine - but who knows), lack of calcium (plenty of egg shell fragments in my home made compost which I've used over the years for some plants, other plants have been grown in commercial compost), inconsistent watering, poor quality or contaminated compost/soil but have yet to find an answer.
I should add that there are, and have been in recent years, quite a few ants on the plants - they seem keen to get inside the flowers - maybe that's an issue? Also, there is now only a small amount of garden soil present in the raised veg. beds and I don't use any garden soil in the containers.
If I can't sort out the problem this year, I'll have to give up growing courgettes. Please help.
0
Posts
Plant things that attract insects nearby.
Regarding pollination: I'm not sure what an unpollinated courgette looks like. How far will they grow unpollinated?
My courgettes look more developed than the one shown in the linked photo. They don't grow properly at the blossom end - staying thin and turning soft, eventually rotting if left on the plant, yet they continue to grow at the attached end into a chunky, dark green vegetable, more than 1" diameter. So, half grown as would be expected yet half stunted/wilted and, eventually, rotten.
They will grow longer than 4" or 5" if left but, by that time, the wilted/wasted flower end has begun to rot so I usually pick them earlier and cut off/discard the last half.
There are no shortage of flying insects nearby and I have this problem every year throughout the entire growing season. Usually, a few courgettes grow normally each year. but I can't work out why when most don't
This year, it's Midnight F1. I've grown many varieties over the past 15 years or so.
"Gluten for punishment that I am, I am trying again this year @dogfonos so wish me luck."
I certainly do wish you luck, Nothing more frustrating (in gardening) than a failed crop when you've taken time and trouble to try and do things properly.
"I get a few of these each year, normally on old plants."
When you say 'old plants', do you mean the plants were grown from old seed or that the plants themselves were nearing end-of-season?
"There isn't always a solution with Mother Nature. She has the upper hand!!"
I think you're right!
Here's an example of the courgettes I grow. Should have placed a ruler beside them - they are both around 4" to 5" long. The top one had been growing for longer than the bottom one. I know little about pollination but I would have thought if the courgettes had remained unpollinated then they wouldn't grow to this size.