Courgettes-or is it zucchini??

I have been trying to grow courgettes this summer in the poly-tunnel. I have grown them before and it was pretty successful.  So after around 10 seeds started to sprout this spring, I was looking forward to seeing lots of flowers and courgettes beginning to form. I even started to think of what recipes I had for using courgettes as it was looking likely that I was going to be the only person in the house eating them!! 

I got this great recipe for courgette pancakes which don't sound amazing to be fair, but they really taste good. All was set for the glut of produce coming my way. I got LOADS of flowers but only one baby courgette, which was obviously tasty to the slugs, and didn't stand a chance. : (

I decided I would be patient as that can be a challenge at times-and wait it out-surely with all those flowers it was just a matter of time.  But no...only one more hopeful courgette. So I decided to ask for help-a radical new strategy I have discovered-which actually works. I went onto a FB page and asked the question-loads of flowers but hardly any courgettes-why?

Well, I got loads of answers from very knowledgeable gardeners saying that courgettes have male and female flowers, and that it is only the female flowers that produce courgettes. As I had so little produce, it was suggested that it may be a lack of pollination-bring back those bees!- and I may have to pollinate them myself using a cotton bud or small paintbrush to transfer the pollen from the male to the female flowers...Honestly-I am quite a lazy gardener, so it seemed like a bit too much effort for me! I put the plants outside and hoped the bees and other pollinators would do their work, and yes-I am now getting some more courgettes-yeah!

So, a lot of learning with a little help, and I am enjoying, and looking forward to more courgettes now, and hopefully even more next year.