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Macomb County

I'll let the grower who sent me the winning e-mail take a bow, if they're going to. But right, when I talk about crushing vines, everyone thinks of the effect on the vine from that point outward. When the key is what it does to the vine from that point backwards. The roots go into overdrive and become far larger than if you hadn't pruned, I mean crushed them 10 ft. out on every secondary.
The mystery of how I saw Blake's drive tractors between their rows of pumpkins to spray them, kill the vine tips and end up with bigger pumpkins to show at harvest.
Now I'll go back and read the relies to my posts and find-out who knows growing.

1/21/2009 10:16:59 AM

Minnesota([email protected])

Jack,
That is interesting and seems possible. Do you know of any studies that confirm this? If crushing the vines really does increase root growth, I wonder if terminating the vines would have the same effect?

1/21/2009 11:07:17 AM

Boulder County Colorado USA planet Earth

This is news to me. Never heard this before. I have stepped on vines and never noticed the vines getting fatter.

Can anyone confirm or denie this?

1/21/2009 11:10:33 AM

Clarence, NY

Last season I made the fatal mistake of moving my main vine a bit too much and had a partial break two leaf nodes above my set pumpkin. It clearly inhibited the growth of the pumpkin with it only topping out at 500 lbs. Since the break was only a partial I buried the vine after wrapping it. A six inch round “nodule” formed at the break. That nodule generated what looked to be 8 to 10 tap roots after I dug it up. I suppose if that effect could be realized at the ends of the secondaries a significant amount of back feeding could be realized. The back end of my plant did look pretty good.

1/21/2009 12:42:00 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

More like a LOOSER...Jack you were suggesting people crush vines before the pumpkin not after...The vines do get fatter if damaged do to scar tissue that forms...the vascular structure does not increase. Just like a damaged tree branch or a broken bone. It tries to strengthen it self, yet it is the 1st part to break if placed under stress.

In a commercial application yield loss from driving over the vines, is less than damage caused by disease or insect damage. I bet you my house and pumpkin land they do not drive over the crown areas.

1/21/2009 2:01:29 PM

Rhode Island

i know i plan on driving our tractor over the plants early and opten.what if i crush the seedling while its still in the pot? will i get a bigget plant early on?

ill go so far as to drive over my competitions plants as well.hey i just wanna help- lol

the last two world records and probably everyone before that were grown with great care not to damage the plants .we used boards to walk on so we did not compact the soil. watered early to mid day, and never- never-crushed anything except our feelings when a biggin goes down.

the soil was tested a couple times during the year and attention to detail regarding proper sprays ,drenches,etc, were also in practice.

learn to do all these things well and you will benefit greatly. wait and crush the vines after the season ---- lol

pap

1/21/2009 2:24:59 PM

Cornelius, Oregon

I refer back to a post some time ago about good pumpkin sayings, and I definately think one of those applies here.....

The Bullsh!! stops when the tailgate drops.

1/21/2009 2:32:38 PM

Minnesota

I acidently stepped on my main vine last year, the plant from where I stepped on it out stopped growing (very slow), a month later it healed and began growing again. I did not notice the rest of the plant growing anymore than usual.

1/21/2009 2:55:43 PM

Pataskala,OH

I just sent you to email to figure out if you were lying about your location which you are.

1/21/2009 3:03:21 PM

Colorado

jack,if you prune the vines at 10ft- you dont have to fire up the tractor

1/21/2009 4:31:10 PM

Woodburn, Indiana

Stelts uses diesel fuel on his plants....

1/21/2009 4:37:07 PM

Minnesota

I grow mine on a city parking lot, the city parks there steamroller pavement flatener trucks on my plants..beat that

1/21/2009 5:13:47 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

KK, I thought you were gonna say "on his eyebrows"!! LOL Peace, Wayne

1/21/2009 6:37:42 PM

Ontario, Canada.

Actually as crazy as this sounds there is in fact some validity to Jacks above posting. Wounding injury does produce a type of root growth response.

I believe it is called layering. I came across this term a while ago and immediately though of Jacks proclamation of a few years ago. I'm not sure how this technique applies to fruit & vegetable plants. I tried it on a few indoor test plants in December with less than remarkable results.

It appears in the California Master Gardener Handbook By Dennis R. Pittenger, University of California (System). Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The layer refers to a wounding of the node junction to induce root formation as means of asexual propagation.

Most of us may already be practicing this to some degree. When we remove tendrils and bury the vines we are wounding the plant to some level. I had stopped removing tendrils a couple of years ago to achieve what I believed was an easier way to anchor the vines from wind damage. I am intrigued enough by my findings to try one plant with some type of wounding mechanism to the side vine end tips.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8701.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=WhWjHB1Zjf8C&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=layering+vegetable+roots+shoots&source=web&ots=RHfMJmOmWa&sig=BPvYJ3lQ5dxFH7mCCXmHOcLagV4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA108,M1

1/21/2009 6:53:46 PM

1/21/2009 7:25:28 PM

Ohio

LOL give em hell Russ

1/22/2009 7:19:39 AM

Ohio

Lets see here, I have a good shot at a 1500lber growing on the vine so Im going to crush the vines so the plant can now grow to heal itself instead of all my growth going twards the pumpkin. Why didnt I think of that?

1/22/2009 8:07:51 AM

Ohio

That gives me another great idea! Im going to go take a chain saw and cut half way through the base of my apple tree! Ill bet I have the biggest apples this side of ohio!

1/22/2009 8:10:50 AM

Team Munson

Kelly you promised me you wouldn't tell now the secret is out!?!?!

Wayne you are right as well it works better than styling gel!!!

Joe you are just plain funny!!!!

I don't think we should be brushing this theory off so quickly with out proper research. I propose that all growers this year smash their main vine in front of their best fruit on each plant. I will not smash mine and we can follow the results on the GPC site results page here.

I know I am taking a chance by being the only one to not smash their main vine but I am always willing to go that extra mile to help the sport out.

I will even go out of my way to visit Quinn, Jerry, Brooks, and even go to New England to make sure they have smashed their main vines. I might just have to make a North American tour to ensure all main vines are smashed!!!

1/22/2009 8:52:55 AM

Pocatello ([email protected])

Yeah, but if you pour all that Elmer's Glue all over it....

1/22/2009 10:01:51 AM

western Kentucky

I think we should chop the main vine and graft it to a rocketship.

1/22/2009 10:59:58 AM

bliss,n.y.- heart of Wyoming County

The tarmack on a runway-- think of the potential
crushed high flying pumpkins

1/22/2009 11:30:34 AM

Woodburn, Indiana

Sorry Dave, I thought the leaking hydraulic fluid was the secret haha.

Wayne, that was hilarious, on his "eyebrows" lol.

1/22/2009 4:06:03 PM

Columbus,ohio

I plan on actully trying it on some of my jack-o-laterns.. I will tell everyone in fall how it goes.

1/22/2009 4:09:57 PM

Team Munson

That's it Kelly no more secrets for you, expect to be high on the list for vine crushing time this summer LOL!!!

1/22/2009 4:12:45 PM

Ohio

BAAAAAAAA hahahahahahahahahaha!@Dave!!!! thats a classic!!

Peep, ,,,,, sounds like a plan, I guess?

1/22/2009 5:48:16 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

Not meaning to High Jack a thread, but how come this one is so wide on my computer? I am a puter dummy, but I have to slide back and forth horizontally on this thread to read all the stuff, what causes that? Or is it just my dumb computer? Thanks Peace, Wayne

1/23/2009 1:07:28 AM

ordinary,VA

my dumb computer to Wayne ...my guess its a giant jack thread!

1/23/2009 4:16:56 AM

Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada

it's that giant link that Russ posted that has caused this to go so wide.

1/23/2009 9:21:36 AM

Fresno, CA

I'm interested in that '6 in. nodule' you had at the vine break, Pumpkitron. I have something similar on my main vine before the fruit. It's only about 2 inches wide right now but it seems to be growing. I'm not sure what caused the early cut or break in the vine that started the scarring process. Probably was my dogs before I put up all the fencing. I am wondering how much the 'nodule' scar tissue will inhibit the flow of nutrients to the fruit. I already culled the fruit I had on the secondaries, so I'm all in with the scarred main vine.

7/1/2009 3:42:26 PM