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wind damage to AG
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Posted by elder 6VA (My Page) on Sun, Jun 25, 06 at 21:46
Two nights ago a horrific wind took hold of my two AG plants and twisted them 180 degrees (probably because the leaves were as large as my graddaughter's umbrella). One of the vines was only crimped, but about eight inches of the tip was nearly torn off, barely hanging on "by a thread". Should I cut off this damaged tip and hope for new growth elsewhere, or just leave it alone?
The other vine was twisted horribly, and only about a fourth of the vine's diameter remains atached to the stem coming up from the root. I covered the damaged area with soil, and the leaves have regained their shape. Is there anything else I can do?
Is the damage to each of the vines going to delay fruiting so much that I'm out for the season?.....Elder |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: wind damage to AG
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| How far out on the primary is the damage ? and do you have any secondaries growing ? Does each plant have a single primary vine ? If you have multiple primaries, I'd suggest cutting off the damaged tip. Are there any female flowers setting in an undamaged area ? |
RE: wind damage to AG
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The vine with the damaged tip is about four feet long, and I noticed today that a second vine is just beginning to grow from the main vine. The tip grew another four inches almost overnight, but I'm still afraid that the open damage area on the vine is inviting trouble.
The other plant has the damage just at the point where the vine goes downward into the root area. Today both plants seemed to be holding up well, but it has been raining steadily for two days.
I have not seen any female flowers setting as yet. I'm still concerned that this won't be a banner year for a BIG pumpkin.
Last year I had a pumpkin plant die off with no visible cause, but a secondary vine remained growing. I severed it from the dead plant, and despite having no main root system, only the roots developing from the vine itself, it was able to grow a pumkin a bit over seventy-five pounds. And, most of this vine was on a fence - I had to prop up the pumpkin so it wouldn't tear the vine as it was hanging over two feet off the ground.....Elder |
RE: wind damage to AG
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| Sounds like you have good soil given last year's result. I must preface this by saying that I'm not an expert but I did grow an AG last year and read a bunch of books, so I'd suggest leaving the plants as-is. If the vines take root and you can bury part of the vine, that seems like a good idea. Better yet, if you get more vine growth branching off the primary near the plant's crown, you could always prune off the damaged primary and treat the secondary as the "new" primary. I'm sure the plant will divert its nutrients to what's left. I pruned my secondaries religiously last year (had to, given a nearby fence) and never had any trouble with disease or pests. The biggest trouble I had was heat stress as it frequently gets over 100F here. For the varmint trouble, I'd suggest an electric fence. It's the only way I can keep the raccoons away. Wayne |
RE: wind damage to AG
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| Stake them vines down. We use sticks in an "X" pattern pushed over top of the vines. It is still early in the heat of the day retrain your vine and get the twists out. It will recover. Sometime the end up looking nicer than the untouched plants. They also seem to have a little more oooumphhh. Shannon |
RE: wind damage to AG
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Thank all of you for your advice and words of hope.
My growing patch is 12 x 20. Last year we put in a wheelbarrow-full of wood ashes, a couple of bags of lime, covered it with four inches of rotted horse manure (try to figure how many barrows-full that is!), lots of lawn clippings from our two acres. This we roto'd in the fall then seeded heavily with crimson clover. Early this spring we cut down the clover, but did not till. At the actual seed site I dug in a shovelful of rotted pigeon droppings. Now, if my ten dollar seeds don't do something good I'll have a fit!!!.....Elder |
RE: wind damage to AG
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Sounds like you are doing everything right. Have you sprayed any insecticides or thought about a fungicide program to combat Powdery Mildew before it becomes an issue?
Shannon Engel
Engel's Great Pumpkin Patch
Chippewa Falls, WI |
RE: wind damage to AG
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Wayne: is burying the vine a common practice?
Shannon: I don't use insecticides or fungicides. Not particularly because of philosophy, mostly I just haven't had the neeed. I rely heavily on plant resistance and the best nutrition I can provide. Am neither Pollyanic nor cavalier, if it won't grow and produce in my garden then I don't use it. And I have NO heartburn about people who do use the chemicals, figure there's more than one way to skin a cat.....Lou |
RE: wind damage to AG
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| I agree with you approach for most vegetables. But not my Giant Pumpkins. Preparation and prevention are the keys to success. Grow them Big. Shannon |
RE: wind damage to AG
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| Thanks for all the advice, both AG vines are growing like mad, and with huge leaves like I've never seen before. However, neither has yet set a fertilized female flower. Is it going to be too late to ripen a pumpkin?.....Elder (Lou) |
RE: wind damage to AG
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Lou,
There's still plenty of time to set a pumpkin, and get a decent one. Last year I had one set about the first of Aug. It ended up to be estimated at about 530 lbs. I'm guessing you have a longer frost free season there as well. Good luck! |
RE: wind damage to AG
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douglas14: I really hope you're correct. Tonight I measured my two AG plants, one vine is 26 ft, the smaller one 22. I also have a big moon pumpkin plant which is over 22 ft, and it is the only one with a set pumpkin, about the size of a softball. This pumpkin is about 18 ft out on the vine. Neither of my AG plants have set a fruit, but the largest plant has a little pumpkin the size of an acorn on one of its secondary vines. I get the feeling that my pumpkins will still be growing when the first snow falls.
My wife keeps telling me that they're not going to grow if I keep watching them. Is this a common affliction among pumpkin growers?.....Elder (Lou) |
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