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Mid Michigan

I have a question for the monster growers out there. I started an 896 Wells in a coffee can here in the house on 5-3. I transplanted it to the mound under a cold frame on 5-13, but i think i let it get too tall before transplanting. Is there any danger of splitting or anything if the stem is too long? It has 3 nice leaves, and a 4th starting, and it looks great! I just worry about how tall it is. Would it hurt anything to pile more dirt up higher on the stem, or should i leave well enough alone?
Thanks.........cuzbiker

5/18/2001 8:39:06 AM

Long Island,New York

Hi...here's what I would do.......increase the soil hieght (mound) around the seedling up to the bottom of the cotyledon leaves. gently slope the soil on the side that the plant will be vining (too steep a slope will aggrevate the situation when the vine starts to bend down to the ground.) I would also put a couple of sticks (like those green bamboo garden sticks) in the ground around the plant w/o piercing the roots to stabilize the plant in the wind. My sticks don't touch the plant...but if the plant moves 1/2 inch in any direction due to a wind-a leaf stem comes into contact with the stick and gets held in place.
It gets tricky as the plantling starts to stretch to vine...this is when its most vulnerable and you'll see many posts in a couple weeks on split stems....to minimize this I use the sticks in a crisscross manner...like how you hold the vines down on the ground but just the opposite--in a cradle arrangement...that way the stem won't come crashing down...you have to move the crisscross stick cradle lower and lower gradually to let the plant come down slow enough for the vine to adjust to the bend w/o splitting....hope this helps....Glenn A.

5/18/2001 9:36:08 AM

Mid Michigan

Thanks for the reply Glenn........yikes! This is my first year at this, and i'm not real up on the lingo yet. Which are the cotyledon leaves? As far as wind goes, i wont get any for a bit yet, it's still been cold here at nite in Mid-Michigan, and i'm keeping the cold frame on for now.
We actually had frost here a few mornings ago.....better safe than sorry, ya know?! I probably have a good 4 inches of stem sticking up.....i'll try to slope some dirt up higher right now. I just didn't know if doing that would rot the stem, or something bad like that.

5/18/2001 9:57:50 AM

Long Island,New York

Wont rot the stem....cotyledon leaves are those two flat seed leaves(the first to open ) that look like beaver tails....still cold eh? Be carefull if you add heat !......Glenn

5/18/2001 10:18:06 AM

Mid Michigan

Ok...gotcha! Yeah, it's been hanging right around 68 to 70 during the day, but dropping down to 45 or below at night yet. The cold frame is keeping it around a constant 75 on the mound right now, so i cant complain. The wife does tho...hahahaha....i have her meat thermometer out there to see what temp i'm maintaining. I also have my old waterbed heater.....just in case!! This IS getting to be an obsession!!! I love it!! Cuzbiker

5/18/2001 11:01:18 AM

Herndon, VA

Glenn: The crisscrossed sticks sounds like a great idea! I am having a hard time convincing my secondaries to come down to the ground; I think your solution will really help me.

5/18/2001 1:00:59 PM