should i have harvested at 4 weeks when they were about the size of bananas

I had one courgette plant in a tub and it's been so wet it rotted and did not survive , the pot had stones in the base and drainage holes and it was stood on another large flower pot that was upturned so drainage should not have been an issue , it just been the vast volume of rain that has fallen where we live drowned the poor plant ... This has now happened 2 years running !
The garden has been struggling a little bit with the heavy rain fall and also the high winds that we had recently , it's not at all like summer !

The tomatoes in the little plastic greenhouse are just about coping with the chilly wet weather but I am not holding out much hope for large crops this year.

We have quite a few courgettes in our garden, they are getting along well, i also had to plant a few in my flower gardens as they were taking up too much space....it has been raining everyday for over a month so as soon as i notice any growth i'll probably cover each plant to avoid too much humidity.


Better luck next year.

I am curious about 'marrows'.  We divide squash into 'winter' and 'summer' types -  summer squash is harvested in summer and has very tender flesh and skin.  These types include zucchini, yellow summer squash varieties, patty pan, etc.  They grow very well in our area.  Usually, one harvests them at the smallest stage because if you grow them for one day longer, they become enormous and sometimes tough, which is considered undesirable.  Winter squash is typically harvested in late summer and fall and has a hard exterior with firm flesh - acorn squash, pumpkins, etc.  I think butternut fits in to this group because it is firm, even though one sees it in the markets in summer.

Is marrow a summer squash that's become huge and tough?  How is it used?

When any of my squash became the size of cricket bats or baseball bats, others used it grated or in zucchini bread and said it was not tough, but that was exactly one day of growth past the time I should have cut it, a difference from a tender, 6 - 8 inch delicate squash to a 2 foot, fibrous bat.  I sometimes wonder too if the small ones are a lot more nutritious because so much of the benefits are in the skin, so one gets a higher ratio of skin to flesh in the young stages?