Re:

Diana, not to worry... these plants can amaze you.

What you describe happens to most growers. For me, it's every year.

First of all, these plants need to be pruned. You might call it a necessity. They do better when even some of the secondaries are pruned. What wind does, is it helps you prune. ;-) You could loose half of your secondaries, and be just fine.

Carefully cut out all broken leaves. That is, if the stem is broken, cut it out. Leaves with holes are generally OK unless they are shredded.

Cut away any vines that are twisted to the point of being damaged. For vines that have simply toppled over, try to straighten them. This can take some patience. 

Now, take a shovel and pile loose dirt over all exposed vines. This will protect the plant when the winds come again. Leave the vine tips exposed because the plant still has a long way to grow. 

I guarantee that if you do this, within two days you will be amazed at how good they look. They will come back just fine, and may even be better off in the long run. 

Good luck, Cliff





________________________________
From: Diana Sigel <duchessofgladstone@yahoo.com>
To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 9, 2009 1:37:06 PM
Subject: 

As I was helping the Church Ladies serve a funeral dinner at the church, a
killer storm blew up.  We got .7" of rain in about 15 minutes, accompanied by
50 MPH wind and hail, and I wasn't home to run with sheets to cover my vines. 
I've just walked back from the patch.  All the way down there, I kept noticing
that there were no holes in any weed leaves.  All the tomato plants seemed to
be doing just fine, thank you very much.  Then I got to the pumpkins.  My
beautiful pumpkin patch with the first female blossoms opening just this
morning doesn't look so great now.  I think every leaf has holes in it.  Some
leaves are broken off from the stem.  Many vines are tipped upside down.  What
a mess.  Now I know why none of those grand champion pumpkins are being
produced here in Kansas.

Will these damaged plants be able to hold up?  Some are really badly damaged. 
If anybody out there can offer me some real help, I can send you pictures off
list of how bad the damage is, but really, I think every leaf has a hole in it
except for maybe some of the new leaves at the end of the vines.  I suppose
that means that all those leaves will just die.

If I replant new seeds within the next 7 to 10 days, will I be able to produce
anything by early October?  I have two seeds left in my arsenal, and I just
planted a third one yesterday after paper towel sprouting it.  Thanks for any
help.

cheers,
duchess of gladstone

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