Courgette is ready to leave the planet

[Jux]

This is my first year of growing and I hadn't planned on courgettes but won a plant at a school fete. I planted it by the spuds and it is now big. Very big.

It is also slowly growing across the garden, with lots of tiny tendrils curling round spears of grass.

There are a couple of flowers, but no sign of courgettes yet. It has some bud-type things on the end of stalks too.

There are photos on my profile. I don't know what to do with it - should I stake it and make it reach for the skies, rather than trying to mate with my lawn?

Do I have to do unspeakable things with a paintbrush and pollen?

It gets loads of water, by the way.

TIA.

Wow- it is huge!

Don't know anything about veg gardening though... sorry ( I thought it was a nasturtium plant at first )

Unspeakable things teehee. I used to call that plant porn. You shouldn't need to if you have male and female flowers out.
I let mine wander but it depends how fussy you are. Some people stake them up, as wth cucumbers, but I have always found them too heavy when they get going. Yours will fruit - the buds on the ends of stalks will be flowers then courgettes.

Plant porn, indeed

Thanks Tippychoocks. I shall be patient.

You might want to stake it up a bit when the courgette's start to form - just to keep them from lying about on the grass.

I LOVE growing courgettes. :)

Good idea zippy539. We are abundant with slugs and snails.

Oh, just thought of another question!

Does it die back? Does it live through the winter and play again next year? Or will it die and I'll have to get another one next year?

It might keep going in a really mild winter but you won't get much from it and the skins will be tough. You'll have trouble finding pollinating insects enough in January anyway! If it does struggle on through the winter you might find very inferior veg.

Let it though if you don't need the room and see what happens!

It won't come back next year unless it self seeds which is unlikely. You'll be better off planting a couple of seeds next spring and getting lovely new plants or buying baby plants as you did this year. Courgettes are easy to germinate and come in all shapes and colours - fun for kids to do flyingsaucer ones, round ones, yellow ones etc.

A friend came round y'day and said "Oh yes, they do like to travel" very matter of factly. She inspected it and said that it only had male flowers, but it might produce some females yet (and that it was probably better to have at least two courgette plants!). She then picked up the bit that's mating with my lawn and pulled it round onto the empty bit of bed beside it, and that was that!

I have no more worries thanks to you lot, and to the thoroughly practical approach and actions of my friend! Next year I'll plant two or three seeds and keep my fingers crossed.

Thank you.

Ummm apparently it is a butternut squash.

I was just about to say it looks much more like a squash plant than a courgette At least you won't be faced with the interminable marrow harvest though.