2020 new Gardeners’ thread

[FoolsAssassin]

I think there will be a lot of people this year looking to grow veg and things generally. Thought I would be goof if those of us who have been growing for a bit could help those getting started,

I’m far from expert but a few allotments over the years and I know there are lots of people on here who are far more knowledgeable than me. So if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask and will see what we can do.

When the flower has completely opened (and I usually leave it till the evening so the bees have a chance first), pick a male flower, preferably off a different plant, because I'm not sure whether they're self-fertile, bend the petals back so the pollen bearing stamens are sticking out, then plunge it into the female flower so it makes contact with the sticky stigma in the centre. Then leave it.

So will those ones grow into a full courgette or do they need pollinating by a male one to grow to full size? Normally they need pollinating with the pollen from a male flower. I'm not sure whether it needs to be the male flower from a different plant or whether they can self pollinate,

You can buy "parthenogenetic" varieties which don't need to be pollinated. They tend to cost about £3.50 for something like 4 seeds.

The courgette has an "inferior ovary". It's not a value judgement - it means the ovary (the mini-courgette) is below the base of the flower. Also referred to as "epigynous".

I spent a slightly silly amount of money on 250 ladybird larvae which arrived last week. I put them on the plants which have aphids straight away (my broad beans are particularly infested with black aphids, and consequently ants which are feeding on their secretions) but I'm not seeing much effect yet. The larvae were tiny on arrival so perhaps their appetites weren't that large to start with. Fingers crossed...

@Tynefilth can I ask for an update on your ladybirds please? I had no idea it was possible to buy them. Have they eaten enough for you to notice a difference? Would you recommend them ?

Third attempt at this message, app keeps kicking me off when I try to attach a picture! @Timesdone I think 50% success. No impact on the blackfly infestation on my broad/runner beans, but greenfly apparently eradicated from all my roses and ornamentals. Can't find any larvae, but that might be because it's about time to pupate.