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Sacramento, CA

I was out in ght patch trimming branches of the black walnut tree that looms over my patch and one of the branches fell on top of one of my AG plants.

The tip of the main vine snapped clean off. It was only about 3 feet long, so it does not have secondary yet.

What shold I do? Will the main keep growing?

7/1/2006 8:00:33 PM

Grants Pass, Oregon

Matt once that secondary starts to grow you can train that for a main vine.

7/1/2006 8:16:00 PM

Midwest

Sorry that happened Matt and Emma! You need a secondary now. A secondary close to the stump will do well. Last year I trimmed a branch above my patch also which fell on my main vine and snapped it in two! I almost cried there on that ladder. That was exactly one week and a year ago! I got my PB off that plant!
Best wishes and blessings!

7/2/2006 1:06:08 AM

Sacramento, CA

c-rules,

Thanks for the encoragement. I was just happy the branch did not land on my head and knock me off the ladder.

Should I bury the end? or just leave it hanging in the air?

7/2/2006 1:53:05 AM

[email protected]

Let it air dry. Secondary growth will be fast with the main vine's tip gone. The main tip is called an "apical meristem". This is the main growth point & the receptor of all kinds of energy. Now that it is gone, a leaf node just behind the break will produce 2 secondary vines (lateral meristems). Watch carefully & choose early which one you will use. Cut the other one off ASAP so the plant can focus on the "new main" (making it the new *apical meristem*). Don't leave 2 laterals (secondaries) at this point any longer than necessary. Once the new main is running you can remove the unnecessary "old main". In a few weeks you'll have to look pretty hard to find the place where it happened.

7/2/2006 8:57:01 AM

Santa Cruz, CA

We had a tip mishap too only at 13' out. It is very sad. One more question, should we train one of the laterals too at this point? We actually have three primary vines on that plant so maybe we don't worry because those are really strong and already have pumpkins going on them?

7/2/2006 12:46:23 PM

Simi valley, ca

My wife has growen 672 off secondary , her first & my first yr growing AGs, and thats with many other problems . But if your main was only 3 ft or so i personaly would recomend what iv done this yr with my dobble vine 1124 plant and that is use a close to stump (back main or secondary) and cut off all other secondarys, the plant will be behind a week or 10 days but it will have strong root base & now plant will treat that back main like a main AND youll get regular secondarys off that and ba as close to a regular plant as possable , it was done by other grower last yr and acheived 1100 pluss pumpkin !!!

7/2/2006 7:16:11 PM