got seeds that say bred for trop. conditions i live in the philippines . the zucchini grows well but the fruit rots at about 2 inches. whats wrong? i live at elevation of about 30 meters. help someone please
Check for pests - I had this same problem, and it was beetles inside the fruit that was causing it to rot. I had great luck training the vines up a trellis so that the fruit hangs down; this kept the beetles out of the flowers and the fruit matured properly.
In the U.K. it is called blossom end rot. Courgettes and Zucchini are the same thing. My understanding is that it normally happens when the plants first start to flower, and there are only female flowers produced. It is only when there are both male and female flowers that pollination can take place. If it has not been fertilised then the small female courgettes start to rot starting with the flower end. This may not be what is happening with your plant. But may be worth checking. See this site for pics of male and female flowers. http://images.google.com/imgres?img...n-gb:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7SUNA_en-GB&sa=N&um=1 There is a lot on www about blossom end rot See.... http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...+end+rot+courgettes&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=
thanks again they flower then the fruit rots at the flower when its 3 inches long. how do i get males?
Be patient. They will come along soon. When they do you will have so many courgettes you will not know what to do with them all!!! Be sure and pick them when they are small, 3-4 inches is good. If you miss picking just one, before you know it you will have a giant marrow. http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Gallery/GalleryImg/BL_109lbs_marrow_2005_r.JPG
ok i will wait longer so your saying that they are hermaphrodite? and i need to wait a long time? the plants were huge and many small rotting fruits. so i should keep waiting and get rid of the rotty ones till the male flowers come out? gee i waiting so long but never saw a male yet. then i pulled them out and composted. so i should try again weed out the rot and wait? thanks
Yes. Male and female on the same plant. Always remove any rotting fruits. This is very odd. You shouldn't have to wait that long to get both sex flowers. If the plant is huge, could you be missing the male flowers under the leaves. this link shows the ideal size to harvest them.Good luck! http://www.allbritishfood.com/Courgette/images/baby-courgette-with-flower.jpg
In Britain it is common for the plants to be planted on top of a well rotted heap of compost. Make sure it has plenty of water. I have copied this advice from www. see site below Soil and Site Courgettes (zucchini) grow extremely well on compost heaps as long as the heap is kept moist. This gives a good clue as to the conditions they prefer when they grown in the open ground. The soil should be well dug and well-drained but also able to be kept moist. The soil should be rich in nutrients, more so than most other vegetables. Having said that, courgettes will grow on most soils. http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/courgette_zucchini_1.asp
