Bought a couple of pots of courgette seedlings from Lidl.

When I came to plant them out, one pot had two courgette plants closely
intertwined, the other had three.
I know because I could see the seed leaves.

Now another year, if it was earlier in the season and I had a bit more
time I would have broken up the root ball and teased the plants apart in
the hope of getting 2 or 3 for 1.

Standard planting instructions say to plant two seed together then pinch
out the weaker one after germination.

Here, they look to be so closely intertwined that separating them could
set them back a few weeks.
Pinching one or two out didn't seem a good idea as they were so well
developed, plus having rotting dead plants mixed in with live ones might
not be the best idea.

So I have just planted them up in their friendship group.

Am I likely to get a decent yield from a group of plants?

Cheers

Dave R

"David.WE.Roberts" wrote in message
...
Bought a couple of pots of courgette seedlings from Lidl.

When I came to plant them out, one pot had two courgette plants closely
intertwined, the other had three.
I know because I could see the seed leaves.

Now another year, if it was earlier in the season and I had a bit more
time I would have broken up the root ball and teased the plants apart in
the hope of getting 2 or 3 for 1.

Standard planting instructions say to plant two seed together then pinch
out the weaker one after germination.

Here, they look to be so closely intertwined that separating them could
set them back a few weeks.
Pinching one or two out didn't seem a good idea as they were so well
developed, plus having rotting dead plants mixed in with live ones might
not be the best idea.

So I have just planted them up in their friendship group.

Am I likely to get a decent yield from a group of plants?

Cheers

Dave R

I doubt it. I would have risked putting them back a week or two by
separating them.
They grow into quite big plants and are greedy feeders so no, I wouldn't
keep them like that.

On 14/06/2013 00:06, Christina Websell wrote:
"David.WE.Roberts" wrote in message
...
Bought a couple of pots of courgette seedlings from Lidl.

When I came to plant them out, one pot had two courgette plants closely
intertwined, the other had three.
I know because I could see the seed leaves.

Now another year, if it was earlier in the season and I had a bit more
time I would have broken up the root ball and teased the plants apart in
the hope of getting 2 or 3 for 1.

Standard planting instructions say to plant two seed together then pinch
out the weaker one after germination.

Here, they look to be so closely intertwined that separating them could
set them back a few weeks.
Pinching one or two out didn't seem a good idea as they were so well
developed, plus having rotting dead plants mixed in with live ones might
not be the best idea.

So I have just planted them up in their friendship group.

Am I likely to get a decent yield from a group of plants?

Cheers

Dave R

I doubt it. I would have risked putting them back a week or two by
separating them.
They grow into quite big plants and are greedy feeders so no, I wouldn't
keep them like that.



I read a useful tip recently, which I have followed with some success.
Dedicate a pair of nail scissors for the garde, cont'd pull out unwanted
seedlings, cut them off.

On 13/06/2013 20:48, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
Bought a couple of pots of courgette seedlings from Lidl.

When I came to plant them out, one pot had two courgette plants closely
intertwined, the other had three.
I know because I could see the seed leaves.

Now another year, if it was earlier in the season and I had a bit more
time I would have broken up the root ball and teased the plants apart in
the hope of getting 2 or 3 for 1.

Standard planting instructions say to plant two seed together then pinch
out the weaker one after germination.

Here, they look to be so closely intertwined that separating them could
set them back a few weeks.
Pinching one or two out didn't seem a good idea as they were so well
developed, plus having rotting dead plants mixed in with live ones might
not be the best idea.

So I have just planted them up in their friendship group.

Am I likely to get a decent yield from a group of plants?

Cheers

Dave R

Plant them as they are and just feed well and keep them well watered if
it turns dry.
In nature they would grow in clumps.
Unless they are very small then you risk loosing one or all of them by
spiting them up. I did that with 3 cucumber plants from Aldi, they were
just 2 to 3 inches tall, but I still lost one, and the other 2 were
knocked back by almost 2 weeks.
David @ a wet side of Swansea Bay

"David Hill" wrote in message
...
On 13/06/2013 20:48, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
Bought a couple of pots of courgette seedlings from Lidl.

When I came to plant them out, one pot had two courgette plants closely
intertwined, the other had three.
I know because I could see the seed leaves.

Now another year, if it was earlier in the season and I had a bit more
time I would have broken up the root ball and teased the plants apart in
the hope of getting 2 or 3 for 1.

Standard planting instructions say to plant two seed together then pinch
out the weaker one after germination.

Here, they look to be so closely intertwined that separating them could
set them back a few weeks.
Pinching one or two out didn't seem a good idea as they were so well
developed, plus having rotting dead plants mixed in with live ones might
not be the best idea.

So I have just planted them up in their friendship group.

Am I likely to get a decent yield from a group of plants?

Cheers

Dave R

Plant them as they are and just feed well and keep them well watered if it
turns dry.
In nature they would grow in clumps.

Totally disagree. Courgettes need grow alone to fruit well

On 16/06/2013 03:03, Christina Websell wrote:
"David Hill" wrote in message
...
On 13/06/2013 20:48, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
Bought a couple of pots of courgette seedlings from Lidl.

When I came to plant them out, one pot had two courgette plants closely
intertwined, the other had three.
I know because I could see the seed leaves.

Now another year, if it was earlier in the season and I had a bit more
time I would have broken up the root ball and teased the plants apart in
the hope of getting 2 or 3 for 1.

Standard planting instructions say to plant two seed together then pinch
out the weaker one after germination.

Here, they look to be so closely intertwined that separating them could
set them back a few weeks.
Pinching one or two out didn't seem a good idea as they were so well
developed, plus having rotting dead plants mixed in with live ones might
not be the best idea.

So I have just planted them up in their friendship group.

Am I likely to get a decent yield from a group of plants?

Cheers

Dave R

Plant them as they are and just feed well and keep them well watered if it
turns dry.
In nature they would grow in clumps.

Totally disagree. Courgettes need grow alone to fruit well


Why?

On Sun, 16 Jun 2013 09:11:30 +0100, David Hill wrote:

On 16/06/2013 03:03, Christina Websell wrote:
"David Hill" wrote in message
...
On 13/06/2013 20:48, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
Bought a couple of pots of courgette seedlings from Lidl.

When I came to plant them out, one pot had two courgette plants
closely intertwined, the other had three.
I know because I could see the seed leaves.

Now another year, if it was earlier in the season and I had a bit
more time I would have broken up the root ball and teased the plants
apart in the hope of getting 2 or 3 for 1.

Standard planting instructions say to plant two seed together then
pinch out the weaker one after germination.

Here, they look to be so closely intertwined that separating them
could set them back a few weeks.
Pinching one or two out didn't seem a good idea as they were so well
developed, plus having rotting dead plants mixed in with live ones
might not be the best idea.

So I have just planted them up in their friendship group.

Am I likely to get a decent yield from a group of plants?

Cheers

Dave R

Plant them as they are and just feed well and keep them well watered
if it turns dry.
In nature they would grow in clumps.

Totally disagree. Courgettes need grow alone to fruit well


Why?


If I get the time (and can be arsed) I might conduct an experiment by
splitting one of the clusters and seeing how the individual plants do.

Then again if I kill all the plants by splitting them then I am worse off
that if I leave them alone. Should I split the 2 or the 3?

I can see both sides - in nature all that is required is to set enough
seed to perpetuate the species whilst in cultivation the aim is to
maximise individual fruit.

An example, for instance, is the culture of tomatoes where they are
artificially managed to restrict growth of side shoots and stopped to
limit the number of trusses.

In nature they would just go wild, crop more but with potentially smaller
fruit.

Then again I have let bush cherry tomatoes in pots run wild and in a good
summer you get far more fruit than a managed plant and with a good autumn
(and no blight) they can go on cropping into November.

It seems unnatural to me to see a tomato plant in a green house in August
which has been stopped, had the required 8 trusses, had the lower leaves
stripped, and is now at the end of cropping when there could be loads more
fruit produced before the first frost.

But I digress :-)

If enough food is supplied so that the courgettes aren't competing for a
scarce resource I see no reason why all two/three plants should not
flourish.

Potentially there should be more flowers so perhaps more fruit but smaller
could be a better result.

The jury is out.

Cheers

Dave R

"David Hill" wrote in message
...
On 16/06/2013 03:03, Christina Websell wrote:
"David Hill" wrote in message
...
On 13/06/2013 20:48, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
Bought a couple of pots of courgette seedlings from Lidl.

When I came to plant them out, one pot had two courgette plants closely
intertwined, the other had three.
I know because I could see the seed leaves.

Now another year, if it was earlier in the season and I had a bit more
time I would have broken up the root ball and teased the plants apart
in
the hope of getting 2 or 3 for 1.

Standard planting instructions say to plant two seed together then
pinch
out the weaker one after germination.

Here, they look to be so closely intertwined that separating them could
set them back a few weeks.
Pinching one or two out didn't seem a good idea as they were so well
developed, plus having rotting dead plants mixed in with live ones
might
not be the best idea.

So I have just planted them up in their friendship group.

Am I likely to get a decent yield from a group of plants?

Cheers

Dave R

Plant them as they are and just feed well and keep them well watered if
it
turns dry.
In nature they would grow in clumps.

Totally disagree. Courgettes need grow alone to fruit well


Why?

Because, *if* they are grown alone you'll get a better crop from each
plant.

My courgettes were very successful last year.
I put each one on a heap of chicken manure and could hardly keep up with
picking them before they grew into marrows.

It's worse, I have ten now, growing away well.

On Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:46:49 +0100, Christina Websell wrote:

"David Hill" wrote in message
...
On 16/06/2013 03:03, Christina Websell wrote:
"David Hill" wrote in message
...
On 13/06/2013 20:48, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
Bought a couple of pots of courgette seedlings from Lidl.

When I came to plant them out, one pot had two courgette plants
closely intertwined, the other had three.
I know because I could see the seed leaves.

Now another year, if it was earlier in the season and I had a bit
more time I would have broken up the root ball and teased the plants
apart in the hope of getting 2 or 3 for 1.

Standard planting instructions say to plant two seed together then
pinch out the weaker one after germination.

Here, they look to be so closely intertwined that separating them
could set them back a few weeks.
Pinching one or two out didn't seem a good idea as they were so well
developed, plus having rotting dead plants mixed in with live ones
might not be the best idea.

So I have just planted them up in their friendship group.

Am I likely to get a decent yield from a group of plants?

Cheers

Dave R

Plant them as they are and just feed well and keep them well watered
if it turns dry.
In nature they would grow in clumps.

Totally disagree. Courgettes need grow alone to fruit well


Why?

Because, *if* they are grown alone you'll get a better crop from each
plant.

My courgettes were very successful last year.
I put each one on a heap of chicken manure and could hardly keep up with
picking them before they grew into marrows.

It's worse, I have ten now, growing away well.

Of course that includes IF you can separate them without major damage.

Starting point seed - single courgettes are fine.

Starting point is three well grown but seriously entangled plants - you
risk losing them all if you damage the roots beyond their ability to
support the extensive top growth.

So the real question is how much risk is there in separating established
plants.

Cheers

Dave R

Why?

Because, *if* they are grown alone you'll get a better crop from each
plant.

My courgettes were very successful last year.
I put each one on a heap of chicken manure and could hardly keep up with
picking them before they grew into marrows.

It's worse, I have ten now, growing away well.

Of course that includes IF you can separate them without major damage.

Starting point seed - single courgettes are fine.

Starting point is three well grown but seriously entangled plants - you
risk losing them all if you damage the roots beyond their ability to
support the extensive top growth.

So the real question is how much risk is there in separating established
plants.

Cheers

Dave R

I fail to see the point in growing loads of Large courgettes, I remember
when courgettes were picked and sold with the flower still on them, now
the things are often sold more like small marrows.
I'd rather grow 2 or 3 plants together if it will result in smaller fruit.
If you are growing for showing then it's a different thing.
David @what has been a sunny day on this side of Swansea Bay

David Hill wrote:
If you are growing for showing then it's a different thing.

Our show has a length limit of, umm, 6-8" I think. It is /really/ tricky
to pick them that small and them not look wrong. Especially the yellows.

"David Hill" wrote in message
...

Why?

Because, *if* they are grown alone you'll get a better crop from each
plant.

My courgettes were very successful last year.
I put each one on a heap of chicken manure and could hardly keep up with
picking them before they grew into marrows.

It's worse, I have ten now, growing away well.

Of course that includes IF you can separate them without major damage.

Starting point seed - single courgettes are fine.

Starting point is three well grown but seriously entangled plants - you
risk losing them all if you damage the roots beyond their ability to
support the extensive top growth.

So the real question is how much risk is there in separating established
plants.

Cheers


I'd be worried about courgette plants that are not single plants.

I grow mine singly, one in a pot (remember to put the seeds on their side)
and once planted out they are go crazy with
the chicken muck.