Marrow flowers dropping

Gardening to 'grow your own food' from square foot to half an acre !!
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mwilli252
Learner Laner
Posts: 17
Joined: 30 May 2010, 17:06

Marrow flowers dropping

Post by mwilli252 »

Hi,

I am a returning member who has 2 x allotments but not the world of experience needed to ensure all things go well. I have planted out some marrow, squash and courgette on one of the plots this year and all seemed to be going quite well until I visited today. I had a few fruit on the squash that looked to be doing great yesterday, I returned today to find they did not look at all healthy (grey rather than a vivid green of yesterday). On closer inspection they had a few nibbles out of them and they fell from the stalk as soon as I touched them. I need to understand what could be eating them (slug pellets all around them) so I can prevent further attack. They are not netted but can be very quickly if that's required as the marks looked like they had been nibbled {cry} .

I also have a couple of marrow plants and one of them was doing brilliantly with a lot of flowers on the centre. I noticed at least three flowers were on the floor and one of them was ready to drop. Where the flowers were seems to be cleanly cut as if by a knife?? I think I may have a mouse problem on the plot or could slugs cause this?

Any advice would be very welcome as I do not want to end up with nothing to show for the effort put in to this second allotment.

Thanks in advance for any assist

Martin
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lancashire lass
Legendary Laner
Posts: 6527
Joined: 28 Jun 2007, 15:17

Re: Marrow flowers dropping

Post by lancashire lass »

Are the courgettes and marrows just starting to flower/fruit? Until the pollinating insects are aware of their location, losing the first fruits is not that unusual - if there has been no pollination, the plant won't put its energy into fruit development and they will die off. Also bear in mind the weather - we've had days of rain which prevents bees from flying, but also the increased humidity and dampness will encourage mildew which affects young fruits. Some good warm sunny weather and I imagine you'll soon have a fresh batch of flowers and fruits.

As for the damage - the slug and snail population is very high at the moment due to the mild winter and the wet weather allowing them to get around, and they can do some substantial damage. Which slug pellets are you using? Some of the "wildlife friendly" ones are not always as effective as the ones containing metaldehyde (the blue ones that have been on the market for years - not everyone likes them due to the toxicity and risk of animals eating them) Try putting some beer traps around the bed (a dish with stale beer to attract them and hopefully drown) to see if numbers are simply just overwhelming your defences. Interesting about the cut marks - touch wood, I've never had mice problems so would not know, but could be birds especially pigeons. I wondered about cutworms but again, not something I've experienced and according to this BBC gardening advice, doesn't sound like it is the time of year for them to be around (but I could be wrong as I really don't know) Covering the plants however, will not be a good idea as you need pollinators to reach the flowers.
mwilli252
Learner Laner
Posts: 17
Joined: 30 May 2010, 17:06

Re: Marrow flowers dropping

Post by mwilli252 »

This is exactly the reason I came back to this site. Thanks for the detailed response Lancashire Lass it helps a lot. I know they need to pollenate and we have had a shortage (due to the weather) of the correct insects to carry this out. Would the flowers/fruit (there was no sign of fruit) just fall off as if they were cut from the stalk? I will definitely look to get the "slug pellets" that do the job instead of the ones we are using. I will also (although it will sadden me) leave a couple of sunken dishes with some ale in them to check on the snail population as that sounds like it could give a decent estimate of the possible infestation.

The plot in question has plenty of neighbours so I will ask if they have had a mouse problem in the past. Now you have mentioned that pigeons will still take a small squash fruit and have a go I will look to put some wide netting (will not stop the insects but will deter the birds) over the next lot that come through until they are properly established.

I look forward to using the site as a learning platform as I know there is a font of knowledge out there and this is a great medium to pull some of that intellectual property in my direction.

Thanks for the assist
Martin
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