An immature courgette that has rotted instead of developing

Courgette rot

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Saturday, 2 March 2019 at 3:00 pm

Boost your courgette yield by combatting courgette rot, with the help of our guide.

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Poor early-summer weather, with a prolonged cold spell, and few insects results in poor pollination. This means courgettes fail to develop, and they quickly rot on the plant. However, this is only a temporary problem, and once the weather starts to improve, so then will the crop.

Symptoms

Baby courgettes fail to develop. Instead of growing into a long or round shape, they quickly rot on the plant.

Find it on

courgettes, outdoor cucumbers, marrows, pumpkins, squashes

Organic

Pollinate the early batch of flowers by hand, rather than relying on insects. Pick an open male flower (which doesn't have a swelling at the base) and strip off the petals to expose the stamens and pollen. Then just rub them thoroughly against the stigma of a female flower (which has a swelling or an immature fruit at its base).

How to grow courgettes

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