Vegetable Growing 2021

That was definitely my intention but I never seem to manage to catch a pair at the right time, if you know what I mean. I have 6 plants and it never seems to be that two appropriate flowers have bloomed when I need them.

Really I just seem to not be getting enough flowers.

 

I might have a go with some fertiliser. Currently I've had two of the standard types grow, but one didn't pollinate and fell off when medium sized. I ate another one that did grow. And then of my "rond" ones, one of them got big but clearly also unpollinated because it fell off, about 3 other tiny ones never got to size, and now I've got one that actually looks like it's going for it. But two courgettes on 6 plants! This time last year I was drowning in them.

 

This is/was my pollination plan:



But as soon as I need male marrow flowers (which have been in such abundance, I've been using them to pollinate courgettes), they almost dissapear. Luckily a choice of males on B and C plants to pollinate female on A in the morning.

Female A, 10 feet along the vine



Male B



Male C (reserve)



They're tied up until early tommorow morning for pollination, after which they'll be retied if sufficiently intact, or bagged with pieces of fleece.

 

It matters what males you use even if growing 2 plants using seeds both from the same marrow, as a better cross/bigger marrow will be produced by pollinating A x B, or B x A, but A x A and B x B will preserve the genetics for using in further crosses in later years, and seeds from crosses this year is what should produce bigger narrows next year.

 

It not only looks complicated, it sounds complicated as well.

Dare I ask?
Where does "C" fit in all this?

 

Plant C is more closely related to B than to A, and it's the weakest plant of the 3, so I'm using it for producing seeds from crosses with both A and B, plus self pollinated to preserve the genetics of the seed it was grown from. It's only a weaker plant because the seed had difficulty opening when germinating, otherwise it had great potential.

Maybe once those have been set I'll let some more marrows grow on it, but none of tbem will be as big as those on A or B as there'll be too many on the plant, but they will be a more handy size for còoking. A single marrow set a long distance along the main stem is best, but a second, smaller one set afterwards can take any growth spurts that might split the biggest one as the skin is hardening.

The days of planting any old marrow in a heap of manure, hoping the bees will do your work and expecting to win the heaviest marrow class even in our small village show ended many years ago.

 

First pollination all done, bagged, labelled and recorded. There's another marrow coming a couple of feet further along the stem so will try for same cross there and if successful remove the first.

An advantage of tying the flowers before they open, rather than bagging, is that they won't be full of water if it's raining in the morning.






You must watch out for bees when polinating as they'll be straight in the female flower as soon as you open it, or try and alight on the male flower whilst it's in your hand. Managed to keep this one at bay until the deed was done.



This'll go on for another week or two, checking for flowers in the afternoons, tying and marking them with vertical sticks so it's easy to find them of a morning, removing excess female flowèrs or those too close to planting position, removing all unused open male flowers to make new flowers easier to spot, checking pollinated females haven't aborted, etc., etc.

 

I never realised that courgettes could be so tricky to pollinate.
They're one thing that you can't give away on our allotments!
They grow prolifically and i guess that's because
A, there are lots of others on ajacent plots and
B, because we have bee hives nearby.
I've planted lots of nasturgiums and marigolds near my vegetables this year and it does appear to help draw in our buzzing friends.

 

This morning's haul from the tunnel. @JWK...most of the aubergines are hidden!

 

I wish I liked them Well, all converted into ratatouille and sterilising now. 26 x 500ml jars.
It makes a good base for lasagne, spag bol, moussaka, pastitsio, paella, chilli con carne...you name it