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No vegetables!

juliaQA2i5VtYjuliaQA2i5VtY Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Can you help?
My courgettes, squashes, and cucumbers have refused to fruit these year. I always grow them in big pots, and they have done well each year, but this year there are no fruit. They are healthy, and flower well, but no fruit.
Why not?

Posts

  • EmerionEmerion Posts: 599
    they could just be running a bit late due to cooler conditions earlier on in the year. If they are healthy,  then it’s just patience I’m afraid. I know it’s not easy 😁. 
    Carmarthenshire (mild, wet, windy). Loam over shale, very slightly sloping, so free draining. Mildly acidic or neutral.


  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Hi @juliaQA2i5VtY - just a thought but, have the flowers been getting pollinated?
    This spring has been difficult in many places further south, and colder, wetter weather often means later flowering and fewer pollinators. It's maybe just a bit of delay because of those variables.  :)
    Are the flowers going over, or are they just flowering now for example?

    I don't grow any of those, so someone else who does might be able to give better advice, but many people have been saying how late their plants are compared to what they're used to. It hasn't made much difference up here because our season is later anyway, but many May into June flowering plants have been later, and tomatoes have had to wait longer for going into the greenhouse.   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I've only grown courgettes and squashes once and can't remember their fruiting habits, but I suspect that as mentioned above the weather this year has played a part.

    You mention that in past years they have done well, but not this year. The major difference (at least here in Essex) is that by now my lawn should be the colour of straw and most the plants struggling for water. At the mo, my lawn is lush and growing fast and I've not needed to water anything other than pots for weeks.
    See what others think, but I suspect more patience than usual is needed this year :)

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • EmerionEmerion Posts: 599
    @Fairygirl has suggested the only other possibility I think. You can manually pollinate, but I would wait and see for a bit longer first. 
    Carmarthenshire (mild, wet, windy). Loam over shale, very slightly sloping, so free draining. Mildly acidic or neutral.


  • juliaQA2i5VtYjuliaQA2i5VtY Posts: 4
    Thanks for the replies so far; will try to be patient then! 
    My tomatoes are doing well, so maybe it's just time??
    Also, I will try moving one or two pits into the greenhouse, and see if that helps.

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I wouldn't put them in the greenhouse ... conditions outside are fine for them, and they need plenty of insects around to pollinate them.  Just water water water ... 

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





  • juliaQA2i5VtYjuliaQA2i5VtY Posts: 4
    I am experimenting with both. 
    Will wait and see and report back.
    Thank you to everyone who replied so promptly. 
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    Are the flowers on the courgettes males? Those tend to appear first on long thin stalks followed later by the first female flowers. I have had about 8 fruits from each plant so far, a yellow variety. I find it much easier to spot the yellow fruits so I don't end up with marrows. I have a couple of squashes growing too but they were sown much later than the courgettes so aren't at the flowering stage yet.
  • juliaQA2i5VtYjuliaQA2i5VtY Posts: 4
    Thanks for the info re flowers. I think I have a lot of male flowers, and from what I've read, that happens when it's too cool, so we will see what happens with the ones that are in the greenhouse. 
    Will keep you posted!
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