Courgette plants - full sun versus partial shade

I have a number of courgette plants of assorted varieties. Some are in full sun, others in partial shade. Both are producing fruit but I can't help but notice that those in full sun all day seem relatively stunted, not only the size of the plants but also the size of the fruit. On the other hand those plants in partial shade are enormous (not just their spread but even the leaves) and the fruits they produce are larger too compared to those in full sun.

After all of the reading I've done the plants in full sun should be doing better than those in partial shade, but that's not the case.

Another possibility is that those in partial shade are doing better because they are pretty sheltered from every wind direction, on the other hand those in full sun are exposed to the south, east and west wind (moderated a bit by a nearby building and some trees 20 feet away). All are growing in large containers.

I should note that it's the same mix of plants in the shade as in full sun.

What are your experiences with growing courgettes related to the sun and maybe the wind?

 

Maybe those in partial shade didn't get boiled dry like the others? I've been watering mine, which are starting to fruit, but it will be a couple of days yet.

 

They seem to like some direct sunshine, but not too much. At least that's my experience.

If we consider the size and shape of their leaves, very often, but probably not always, plants that produce huge leaves do so because they've evolved to capture as much of the limited light they can. Courgettes have huge leaves.

But irrespective of sunlight, soil conditions are also relevant. Courgettes like good moisture retaining soil. You're more likely to get that if the ground is not being baked dry by a full day of direct sunshine, so the light level might not be the issue so much as the fact that ground that gets a break from direct sunlight is likely to be holding more moisture.

 

In a cool damp summer I'm prepared to bet the ones in the sun would be doing better than those in the shade.

Not sure what part of the world courgette and marrow originated but I would think it was somewhere wet and humid at least during the growing season.

 

Thanks for all of the replies.

They're all in large containers and are watered as required, naturally those in the full sun have needed to be watered a lot more than those in the partial shade.

As indicated by pete, it does seem likely that in a cool and damp summer those plants in the sun would do better than those in the shade.

 

Another consideration is feeding. The ones you're watering more will need a bit more feed, because if you're using a water soluble feed, you'll be flushing some of it out every time you water.

 

Excellent point. What would you recommend as a feed for courgette plants?

 

I usually feed mine once a week until they start producing fruit, then up it to twice a week. This routine usually gives me more courgettes than I can use but I haven't grown any this year.

 

Thanks, but what kind of shop-bought feed should I use?

 

I'd be inclined to water in some general purpose fertiliser like "growmore". I've put some on my solitary plant, a gift from next door, and it's looking good (fruiting just starting).

You can buy small quantities at a relatively decent price at Wilko ("Westland Growmore Garden Feed 4kg 0490288 Was £9.00 £6.50 £ 1.63 per 1 KG You save £2.50" or "Wilko Growmore Plant Food 1.5kg 0274758 £3.00 £ 2.00 per 1 KG" which is the same as growmore (7-7-7 NPK) but dearer per unit weight) or maybe other places.

 

I used miracle grow for years, but last year I switched to tomarite. It's hardly a scientific test but I got my best crop ever last year. Both seemed to do their job just fine so I wouldn't recommend one or the other, or any other comparable product, but from my own very unscientific assessment, I'll be using tomarite going forward.

 

Thanks, think I may have some Tomorite somewhere. Might be a few years old though, does it 'go off' or become less effective?

 

Tomorite should be fine. It's 4-3-8 NPK in liquid form, when diluted and applied it will give a fast result. It's quite expensive for what it is, though. Use your old stock up, it should be quite OK. You know it makes sense!