...the recent soggy, damp weather [...] has meant that all the later flowers on the courgettes and marrows have quickly rotted.
The weather this year has been far from ideal for raising squashes - my plants are still undersized and you'd almost need a magnifying glass to see the fruits! Courgettes and marrows, though, have had a brilliant year, with the marrows reaching epic proportions.
However, the recent soggy, damp weather - which infuriatingly doesn't involve 'useful' rain, which actually penetrates to the plants' roots - has meant that all the later flowers on the courgettes and marrows have quickly rotted. The rot from the flower spreads back into the young courgette. Although there is little you can do about the weather, it is well worth checking courgettes and marrows daily. As soon as the fruit is formed, I pick off the flower, ideally before the petals get a chance to deteriorate. If the rot has already started then I remove the flower as soon as possible. Caught before the brown rotting spreads to the fruit-end of the flower, you can invariably stop the problem ruining the fruit itself. It doesn't take long and makes all the difference.
I welcome an unending supply of courgettes, but others might complain that they are overwhelmed by their crop. My solution? I make a courgette soufflé, using coarsely grated courgette, with a little less liquid than I might for an ordinary soufflé. It does have a rather unusual green colour inside, but the taste and texture are wonderful!
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