These things are growing like crazy. I thought I'd have time to thin a couple plants out, but when I got back from a recent short trip... they had more than quadrupled in size. So I just left them. Now they are reaching above their "cage". I've spotted several small fruit and have stuff at the ready to support them. So... do I just leave them alone, or should I "top them off"? Vertical Cantaloupes ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) It's okay of some of them run along the ground... just not into the blackberries that's behind them or into the strawberries on the other side.
Gad miss! What a monster they have becopme. Well, this is info for the future. Well now what to do. You could drive four poles into the ground (so deep that the tops of the poles are more or less the same height as the rack). Then you could span a length of chicken wire (or something like it) over the poles and nail this into the tops of the poles. You then train the cant. vines to run across this structure and hope that they don't spill off the top and onto the ground. if they do, then it will be time to take the knife in hand. Good luck and keep us posted.
Thanks Sjoerd... I'll keep that in mind if I try it again. But I'm not up to all that work. I'll let them just do their thing and do my best to keep them out of the berries. If I have to trim some back, so be it. As long as a I get a few to eat, I'll be happy with the experiment. Lessons learned so far... only put 3 plants for that cage and thin down to two early on. Make cage taller. Better yet... maybe try growing some on the fence, might be easier to tend to the fruit. Hmmmmmm... :idea:
Cheryl, I would think it wouldn't hurt to pinch the tips out. They will make thicker foliage, but maybe not quite as long, though.
heh heh heh...i know what you mean, Cheryl. as you have said, the best thing here is the lesson you have learned about how many plants to plant. Those plants can really grow to enormous lengths and have several side vines as well. You are going to have a real mass of vine. The next important thing to to NOT have too many fruits on each vine or vine branch. How you are going to see that with that mass of growth that you now have, I don't know. hahaha. Well, as long as you get some usable fruits then it will have been a success. Keep us posted.
I've been peeking in that "jungle" and have spotted several fruit... they are still small... maybe 2 inches. Will definitely thin them out if I get too many in one area.
Whoo-Peeeee! That is great news. Did you have to take your passport and a machete when you ventured in? Did you tie a rope to a fencepost and your waist before disappearing into the foliage?
A trip to the WDW garden exhibit provided an interesting approach to how professionals solved problems. While probably not practical for mass production, on a small scale it presents a possible solution for small gardens. As the vegetation dominated the useable space, leaves that were not providing any significant contribution to the final product were removed. Yielding access to the fruit. WDW Cucumbers2 2008 ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) As the fruit grew support was provided to maintain structural integrity and to prevent problems associated with contact to the soil. ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) They also exhibited closed system irrigation and for the provision of nutrients. Jerry
Hmmm… O.K. A little knowledge is dangerous but I will take a stab at it. From previous forays into the world of plant biology we have the Xylem and the Phloem. http://www.gardenstew.com/viewtopic.php?p=284358#284358 According to the pictures I took at the WDW facility, it would appear that the newest leaves provide the most sunlit nourishment, the older leaves have served their usefulness and thus can be removed from the plant. Removing the older leaves also allows the roots to send more water and soil based nutrition to the fruit and remaining foliage. Without having the botanist at hand to ask questions that would be my take on their procedure. Jerry
Thanks Jerry... I noticed some of the older leaves are yellowing. I'm sure it's okay for me to cut those off... and some of the other "first" leaves. I do have several fruit... and four that I went ahead and supported because they were started to get elongated. Baby cantaloupe being supported ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
an idea I want to try ( photo / image / picture from AAnightowl's Garden ) I saw this someplace and decided that I wanted to try it sometime. Maybe this kind of thing would be workable for some many climbing 'lopes? I have a folder for ideas to try in my garden at some point. I guess if you planted the seeds, you would have a lot of cross pollinated varieties? Like "cukamelons" ?
