Re: HELLO, and What did I do wrong- small plants?
- To: "'Pumpkin'" <pumpkins@mallorn.com>
- Subject: Re: HELLO, and What did I do wrong- small plants?
- From: "* G* L* <G*@PSS.Boeing.com>
- Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1998 13:15:27 -0700
Rick-
Interesting plants you have there. are you by chance burying the
vines?
1) my guess is that you are not burying them. If you were the
secondaries might never make it out of the piled on dirt.
If you are not burying the main vines - then my guess is that you plant
growth ( a plant without secondaries) is genetic. keep hanging out
with the group and next year someone should be able to get you some
better seeds. ( if you stay on the group and people know you from the
postings then they are more likely to give you seeds, i think) maybe the
seeds you used weren't AGs???
AG leaves are typically larger than 14 in. most growers have plants
with leaves that are 2 ft across, more or less. - again your problems
seems to be in your seeds.
have you had your soil check? if not - you should do so, that will help
you to know what to do there. alot of growers get the soil check in
their garden every year - sometime more. this will help in the long
run. -but if your plants appear healthy then there is probably nothing
seriously wrong with your soil.
2) Generally the best time to water is in the morning. some growers
mist in the afternoon if the outside temperature is hot ( above 90) to
help keep the plants cool. if you water later in the day then that
increases the chances that your plant will develop mildew; you plant
will stay wet overnight. also when you water in the morning it is
cooler than later in the day and more of the water gets down into the
soil and doesn't evaporate away. you also need to water in the whole
area and more surrounding your plants, not just where the stump goes
into the ground. the roots of the plants grow all over the place, they
can grow fast ahead of the plant area (you can see this at the end of
the year when you did up your plants, the little white roots can grow
way beyond the area taken up by the plant), also at the intersections of
the leaves and the main vines the plant will put down a root called a
tap root. these roots provide nourishment like the other roots and also
help anchor the plant. if you bury the vines at the intersections then
a root will also grow from the top side of the vine. the plants
generally need 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water per week.
lol ( lots of luck)
Gordon Tanner
Maple Valley, WA
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To summarize:
I have 3 plants from unknown-parentage Atlantic Giant seed bought
locally from Agway.
As of 7/5, largest AG plant was 14' long, but NO secondaries;
quite healthy, with only 20 leaves, largest 14". Garden gets full sun
2-8:30 PM.
Watered (almost) daily, around 4-5 gallons spread across 3 plants.
*None* of my 3 plants have secondaries. (On the web, I see plants
20x25' now, with big secondaries, even tertiaries, with hundreds of
leaves.)
I have plenty of male & female flowers.
Some female flowers are almost golf-ball sized when they open.
Questions:
-are my plants indeed midgets, by AG standards (why no secondaries)?
Is my problem likely to be my seed or my gardening technique?
-what time of day is best to water & why?
---
Rick Inzero,
Rochester, NY rdi@cci.com
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