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Ohio

I have heard many diffrent ways to do this and just wanted to see how other people do it.

Are you suppose to bury the main vine (not vain,lol) as it grows and the secondaires,or do u bury only the secondary vines and leave the main uncovered untill u get a fruit to set, then bury the main vine?And if u do only bury the secondaries do u bury it all the way to the main and cover the main only where the secondary shoots out. On two of my plants so far i have seen roots growing out of where the secondaries come out of the main.
Thanks,
Slychit(Brooks)

6/3/2004 9:10:10 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Everyone has their own system. I have followed advice to bury the first few feet of the main and all the secondaries. This way you can keep an eye on the main and not have to pull it up too much when the fruit is growing.

6/4/2004 1:06:52 AM

Kenyon, Mn.

Along the same line of questioning, If the main vine is buried, one would NOT bury it a few feet from the pumpkin,on both sides, allowing slack in the vine for the punky to grow...Correct?????

6/4/2004 7:19:07 AM

Deer Park, WI

This is indeed a matter of personal opinion, there's no right or wrong way. And each has its advantages. I prefer to bury my main vine, as this serves a couple of purposes...#1 the vine will set down very vigorous roots at each node, and these serve as anchors when the wind whips up. Covering the vine insures that the roots will not dry out and are getting soil nutrients. Recall sink/source relations...the closer you bring the pumpkin building blocks to the fruit, that bigger it may grow. Secondly, burying the main prevents SVB entry. This is definately important.

Reasons not to bury the exist as well. IF you have very heavy soil that does not dry very well, rot could be a problem. Secondly, burying the main usually limits its mobility, if a situation arises. If it needs to be curved away from a growing fruit, its nice to have it readily movable.

Bumpy- to answer your question I do bury my main up to the fruit. This allows root development on each node flanking the fruit. Not all fruit will stress a main vine, and if this is the case you would want those roots supplying the pumpkin. However, there is no problem in severing those roots and un-burying the vine if the fruit begins to cuase stress.

6/4/2004 9:09:41 AM

Ohio

;-) thanks

6/4/2004 8:19:35 PM

Kenyon, Mn.

me Too...Thanks :~}

6/6/2004 7:28:09 AM