Sunburned seedling stems?
Howdy fellow pumpkineers-
For the second year in a row, my seedlings have gotten damaged stems- it
seems from the sun. The stems get white and dry on the top surface and
actually split open lengthwise! It doesn't kill the plant, but I can
imagine (now) that this is why I didn't do so well last year- half the
circumference is torched, slowing the very early development of the plant,
until the leaf node roots can take over. The seedlings are small when this
happens- 2 true leaves, so there isn't any stem shade from the leaves. I
plant the seedling in the ground (from a peat pot), and it leans over from
being top-heavy- it was leaning the way I wanted it to go, so I was
unconcerned. I keep them in A-frame cloches made from storm windows, but
only at night or on cloudy days- on sunny days, I've been tipping the cloche
off and letting the sun shine directly on the plants. The sun hits the
exposed stem, and it apparently dries and splits.
I'm wondering if anybody else has seen this before, and what you've done to
avoid it? We've talked about cloches being used for cold protection, but
what about sun protection?
-I'm wondering if I should have kept them in the cloches even on sunny days
(with the ends opened up so heat can escape), for as long as I can size-wise
just to reflect some of the direct sun or UV rays?
-I'm thinking that I have kept them in the pots too long (16 days-
unavoidable this year due to a solid week of rain, followed by freezing
temps) and they got spindly, thus tipped over. If I'd gotten them in the
ground sooner, maybe they wouldn't have tipped over until they were more
robust?
Thoughts/advice?
-Rick Inzero, "plain text" email advocate :-)
Growing near Rochester, NY
"Did I see bees? I did."
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