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WALES, NEW YORK

I came out to the patch yesterday morning and found that something had dug out the pumpkin pro/ mykos / powdered kelp mixture from under my leaf axils damaging the mains on both of my plants ..one is split and kinked pretty bad about 7 ft down and the other is split and slightly kinked about 3 ft down .. I applied sulfur to both and placed a tiny canopy over them to keep them dry ..to my surprise they have been continuing to grow like they were never damaged ... my question is with the major damage to the vines even though they appear to be growing at the same rate as before the damage ..would the damaged vines be capable of supporting enough growth for a competitive pumpkin or should I consider cutting the main and training a secondary to replace the main .??

6/17/2012 10:37:02 PM

East Jordan, MI

you say vine is split. To me that is length wise with the grain. A break across the grain will undoubtedly have a greater impact in reducing the flow from the stump to the kin. The vine will most likely get bigger in the area -- at least in my limited experience, will it be as good as not being damaged -- I don't think so.

When you ask can you grow a competetive pumpkin on a broken vine? What is your definition of competitive? What is your goal?

6/20/2012 9:25:17 AM

WALES, NEW YORK

Well I've been close to 1000# but not over yet .. was really hoping to way exceed that barrier this year ... I've made quite a few changes this season. I really couldnt tell if I had an across the grain cut on either one those.. they were kinked but dry ..I would think if I had an across the grain cut that it would be leaking ..definitely had a pretty bafd kink and was split with the grain but these plants are still growing like nothing ever happened ...the vines are continuing to grow at the normal pace ..

6/20/2012 10:39:05 AM