Urban Giants
Andrew: I have been growing AG's in a section of my vegetable garden for the
past five years. I run a drip irrigation system with emitters circling the
mound and then disbursed throughout the bed. I move the emitters to the base
of the vines to encourage secondary roots and do some burying. I have a
raised bed that is about 12X20 (usually two plants)in which I plant the
seeds and I allow the vines to grow up a lattice and into an adjacent bed
towards the end of the season.
My greatest difficulties are:
1. Turning the vines in the small area.
2. Disease control in a limited space.
3. Access to the flowers and pumpkins without doing damage.
My attempts at solutions are:
1. I use stakes to slowly turn the vines and do it very early.
I have had problems with vine splits, but have had success by using chunks
of Aloa Vera plant inserted in the split and then duct taped together.
2. I soak and spray with kelp extract and sometimes use neem
oil. My first few years I burned the leaves by using very strong chemicals,
but have had better success with this approach. My greatest villian is
mildew, no bugs.
3. I lay out boards and try to direct the vines to certain
locations, but by the end of the season I am doing a strange kind of
hop-skip-and-jump to get to the giants. No good solution there. I figure
if I thin the vines I lose my power generaters.
I look forward to hearing your tips.
Craig Johnson
Pacific Palisades, CA
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