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Lexington, Ky

What are the thoughts regarding keeping some cuttings alive this winter?

10/12/2013 11:57:06 AM

sevierville, Tn

a) they don't root like pumpkins, so it would be alot harder.
B) because of A, you could never grow anything worthwile off the clone.
C) I pulled the plant last week , so even if you could, its too late. :(

10/13/2013 8:44:56 AM

The North Coast

A)is not true. Good growers can root a popcicle stick.

B)is just ludichris...I know of 3 benefits to any traditional grower. And they are...

10/23/2013 7:57:19 AM

sevierville, Tn

Nathan, I didn't say it couldn't be done, just that its alot harder. Pumpkins often have a root before they even touch the ground, not so with melons, they take some time, ...well unless it rains & is cloudy everyday ! LOL

10/23/2013 1:35:29 PM

Lexington, Ky

Alright Chris, next year, bring me a cutting to Bear Wallow, I'll give it a shot...what the heck?! Then we can add another argument into watermelon growing! LOL A grafted clone!

Nathan, any suggestion on how long a cutting should be for cloning? I'm thinking at least two nodes back?

10/23/2013 3:06:47 PM

sevierville, Tn

Nathan as for B , pumpkin clones can't compete with seed grown pumpkins, so i don't see how a melon clone with only node roots could. What other benifits are you looking at ???

10/23/2013 3:54:58 PM

The North Coast

It would be a long story sounds like.

10/23/2013 4:12:41 PM

Piqua, Ohio

if you graft a cutting to a gourd rootstock you might be competitive, but if you belong to the GWG they might have to make a seperate class for you! 1320 you may be on to some thing!

10/23/2013 5:35:30 PM

formerly RGG

LOL Josh

10/23/2013 7:28:16 PM

Bethlehem CT

Speaking as a pumpkin grower here the only value in I see in keeping a clone alive through the winter is for using it to advance the genetics in our seeds, Not for trying to grow a big one.
I think what Matt D did last winter with "snowball" is a far better way to spend our winter time. (see his diary)
I have never planted a cloned pumpkin or melon in fear that the clone would pick up some disease or insect (while in the greenhouse) and spread it to the rest of my plants in the garden. The less time spent in the greenhouse the better.
The other thing to remember is that a rooted cutting will lack the vigor of a seedling. (AKA seedling vigor)
Just my 2 cents.

10/24/2013 8:53:34 AM

The North Coast

I totally forgot that old school technique...ya, those naturally rooted stems are only so good.

Anymore people clone with hormones. Here is a great starter video on the concept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faOKTFgXIlI&list=PL019614D52509A106

Now, if a person would clone in this fashion you would get:

1. A plant with a highly stimulated root structure from the onset due to the IBA. In my experience this is more vigorous than from seed.

2. This clone would not have a hypocotyl. Crown issues develop in the hypocotyl zone.

3. This clone would exhibit a growth structure much different than a seed grown plant. Coming out of the ground would be a stem with similar apical dominance as a pumpkin vine. This would be stark contrast to the standard crown. The best melons are set on a clear primary vine on a plant with submissive secondaries.

10/24/2013 10:27:58 AM

The North Coast

Like I said to you Chris a while ago, it is possible, it is a benefit, and I have thought the entire process out.

That was a very special plant. It exhibited things that no plant before was able to do. Too bad it couldn't been kept alive.

10/24/2013 10:49:00 AM

sevierville, Tn

Q= so if this has all these benifits, then why not grow a plant this way ??? That would still be "one plant one seed" Right

Q=So a clone done this way would be better then a "standard pumpkin clone way" ?????

Q= what is IBA ??

10/24/2013 2:26:51 PM

sevierville, Tn

never mind on the IBA, i got it.

10/24/2013 2:27:56 PM

sevierville, Tn

Would a rooted stem hold up in the ground the way the stem that the root come from in a normal seed grown plant does ???

10/24/2013 2:46:03 PM

Corryton, TN

Chris it's my opinion that the real benefit would be using the grafted plant for pollinating or raising a selfed melon. Just like the pollen you got from the 1161 Rodonis clone

10/24/2013 3:01:01 PM

The North Coast

Yes, it is my opinion that this plant would be superior to a seed grown plant.

I am not a watermelon grower, I am a student of plants. I have a vast education and experience with plants across the board. At this point do you doubt what I say? I have explained to you what the limitations are in the seed and what is needed to be done to unleash the full potential of the plant. Right now you are not only the best watermelon grower around but you have privileged knowledge. I am sure folks are enjoying watching us launch salvos back and forth but lets just be cool. You can take what I have told you and choose to run with the idea or you can let it fall by the wayside. Personally, I don't really care what you do. Half of me loves to see big melons but the other half wants to see how long it takes the growers to get back to 350.

10/24/2013 3:15:31 PM

sevierville, Tn

Oh no, not doubting, just trying to learn & understand !! I am always willing to try new things, thats how i got to be good. So if there is a better way, i am always willing to try it or at least see if theory = results ! Thanks very much !

10/24/2013 3:23:05 PM

sevierville, Tn

P.S. I suspect 350 will ,like all records, last but a year or 2 at best !

10/24/2013 3:25:00 PM

The North Coast

The number of plants that I have propagated is easily in the four figures. After a while you can see similarities that are consistent across the genera. While I have never cloned a watermelon plant, I can tell you what you can expect with a good degree of certainty.

10/24/2013 3:29:36 PM

The North Coast

You really are the best...there is nobody I'd rather work with.

10/24/2013 3:30:42 PM

The North Coast

new video coming as soon as it finishes uploading...maybe by 9 pm due to my slow upload rate, but expect it soon. It is pretty good.

10/24/2013 3:33:58 PM

The North Coast

I will link it as soon as it comes up...it is over 10 minutes of pure joy. Starting just after you popped the trunk, all the way to the end.

10/24/2013 3:37:05 PM

sevierville, Tn

i just like to grow stuff, & watermelons are my fav thing to grow ! I'm not the best by any means. I just had a moment in the sun. We are all back in the shade, all equal, ready to start again when spring returns !

10/24/2013 3:47:49 PM

The North Coast

I have watched this video intently no less than 20 times. To me it never gets old...I just love big melons.

10/24/2013 3:59:50 PM

formerly RGG

I think we all love big melons Nate. That is the common denominator of this forum.I had thought about asking Cris for a piece of rooted 350.5 plant with a few leaf nodes attached. I have some grow lights I could placed the plant under and perhaps used some of my Indole Butyric Acid to encourage new rooted nodes throughout the winter. Then come late spring I could have taken the healthiest rooted node or nodes and started a plant intended for competition or selfing for the genetics or for pollination of other good genetics or possibly all three. Do you think this would have been possible ? Also, is it possible to graft cucurbits that are past the seedling stage ? I mean if it is, then a grafted rootstock might have been applied in the spring to the plant that I over-wintered. This would have left me with a almost perfect reproduction of the world record plant. Then, if only I knew all Chris knows about how to fatten a melon up............. Sounds like California Dreamin', on such a winter's day.... LOL

10/24/2013 6:05:37 PM