Can my courgettes be saved?

Do my eyes deceive me or is that a bud developing? If so, give it a chance! With better weather it may yet surprise you!!! (Sorry I'm not an expert :-( )

Hi Spritz. Me neither - although that's fairly obvious :o) I'm not in a rush so I'm happy to give it a chance, especially given the expected improvement in weather.

The leaves on mu courgette plants have never looked too good from the start and in fact a couple of the main stems have split, but it is still producing quite a few fruits, I pick them when they are small rather than letting them grow to a big size.

Hi Andrea, I haven't had any fruit yet! There are occasionally small ones that look like courgettes but they seem to grow to an inch or so and then disappear again (die?).

I did hear that sometimes you have to self pollinate them with a paintbrush- to ensure they fruit. Maybe you could try this?

Hi Peter, how big is the pot you've used? courgettes need plenty of root run, last year I had no success at all with mine compared to the previous year. This year I purchased good seed recommended by the RHS and grown one to a large pot, they have been quite successful despite the weather we have had. At the moment they have some mildew but are still producing fruit. Maybe you are getting male flowers and no females do try self pllinating as andrea says, due to the amount of rain we have there havn't been as many pollinating insects. If all else fails try again next year but don't give up, it's all part of the fun of growing your own.

So my next question which I feel a bit silly asking (I should be past the birds and the bees by now) - how do I self pollinate my courgettes? Do I take pollen from the male and brush it into the female flower? I'll check whether it's producing just male flowers; if it is, I assume it can't self pollinate?

Holly, my pot is about 8 inches wide which I suspect is too small. I won't be giving up though - I'm learning too much and enjoying it too much for that :o)