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Canada

How does that go... The direction of the "first True" leaf
is the direction the main vine will grow?

Reason I ask is because year after year my plants seem to grow in the same darn direction ( way the sun goes down at night) ive never really paid any attention to what direction i planted each plant into the soil it just always seems that they always end up going same direction

this year I would like " if possible " to train my plants in different directions so they dont all grow to same spot of yard.

any help on this would be great thanks

Dave.

4/20/2005 8:05:52 PM

Belgium

The vine will go the opposite of the first true leaf, not the same direction.

Jake

4/20/2005 8:18:59 PM

Canada

Ahhhh... ok thanks

DaveM

4/20/2005 8:46:42 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

General rule .....not Gospel....They'll turn if they want...LOL
GrowEmBig! Chuck

4/20/2005 9:05:40 PM

South Hill, Virginia

My experience is they go the way they want to go. Sometimes opposite the first true leaf and sometimes the same direction. I started planting mine with the seed leaves parallel to the direction I wanted the vine to go so I would only need to turn it 90 degrees. If you are planting back to back it is a bit of a pain to turn a main vine 180 degrees.

4/20/2005 10:17:20 PM

Deer Park WA

Same direction as the second true leaf, or opposite direction of the first true leaf, within a quarter turn in our experience. If you have the room do as my mentor, and AG hero Len Stellpflug told me and plant it in the open (center of the site) so it can run the way it wants to.

4/21/2005 12:14:46 AM

Napa Valley, CA

90% of the time its the opposite direction of the first true leaf........turning it 180 degrees the other 10% can drive you nuts !.......geo.

4/21/2005 1:37:19 AM

Northern Cambria, Pa.

You should also tilt the plant about 30 degrees toward the direction you want. This will help it lay down easier also and put less stress on the stump and may save you a nasty stump split. Since the plant is tilted the first true leaf will be pointed up slightly.

4/21/2005 9:00:02 AM

Hudsonville, Michigan ([email protected])

Good idea Larry. Two years in a row I planted 1061 Ciliberto and had them grow up, then flop over the exact opposite way they were 'supposed' to. If I had planted them at an angle they would have been forced to lie down nice...
Frank

4/21/2005 10:57:20 AM

Kansas City, MO

Does everyone agree with the 30% lean approach? I'd like to do that to keep it on the ground. Greg

4/21/2005 2:52:05 PM

ipswich, ma usa

It doesnt work, It just grows back up to the light. Let it fall over naturally and if need be place some braces under the main and let it down slowly. Nature sometimes has the best ideas, we dont see pumpkin plants growing on angels.

John (5150)

4/21/2005 3:14:14 PM

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Angles. But I bet a pumpkin plant growing on an angel would have a step up on those growing in dirt.

4/21/2005 4:57:32 PM

Follansbee, Wv

I don't know if this means anything, but I have been experimenting with Brocolli plants. I planted them all at the same time, and potted them up once the cots were developed. At that point, I shaded one side of the plants, and only allowed direct sunlight to hit from one side. The interesting thing is that the first true leaves ALL formed on the same side. Ten plants, all the same. Coincedence? You be the judge.

4/21/2005 9:49:06 PM

[email protected]

Good stuff Monty.

For the record, I like angles too.

I think the rule of thumb around here is about 70% for falling opposite the first true leaf.

4/21/2005 9:57:06 PM

Canada

Thanks for the input everyone

Dave

4/21/2005 10:41:18 PM

Montoursville, PA

I use angle approach.........and I have a 75 watt shop light, on the ground leading the main vine. Move it an inch or so each day the vine grows.

The 75 watts adds about ten degrees to my 4 X 4 X 4 cold frames. Gray days or cool days the light stays on all day and night. If I get a real scare I throw blankets over the top of the cold frames until the weather turns more favorable.

4/22/2005 1:08:39 PM

New York

30 degrees has always worked well for me. Another trick is to use a misting bottle with water and spray the 2nd true leaf during a warm spell when the plant is slightly dry.This gently applies pressure to one side of the plant.Combined with the original 30 degree tilt, the plant leans in the proper direction every time..15 for 15 the last 4 years. Keep in mind that the young plants are still in their coldframes so wind has never been a problem.

4/22/2005 8:45:40 PM

C N Y

i have often wondered what would happen if the plant was only illuminated from the direction of desired growth...
leading the witness, as it were. perhaps a big ol' box with only one side open, and there's the light bulb hangin' and the sun shinin' only into one end. hmmmm.....
THEN, we could plant them any way we wanted and they would even moreso go in the right direction. maybe.

4/22/2005 9:43:50 PM

Riverton, WY

I did something similar to what you're talking about Eric. Last year I had a vine growing straight up & didn't look like it was planning to lay down in the right direction, so I staked up a white hand towel on the side I didn't want the vine to grow to....about an inch or two away from the emerging vine tip. Within a couple days it began to grow the direction I wanted it to.

4/23/2005 11:35:27 PM

Montoursville, PA

All plants will reach and lean towards light. Just be carefull not to permit them to catch up and burn themselves.

Like little kids they seem to want to touch that nice warm and bright shop light.

I do not think I would shade the cold frame to create a light spot or side. I feel the cold frame needs to collect as much heat as it possibly can.....at least here in the Northeast.

4/24/2005 10:38:39 AM