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Entry Date
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Location
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Sunday, August 16, 2026
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TowneFamilyVT
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Vermont
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Entry 71 of 72 |
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Pulled the whole plant today. Carson and Emily on the crew, made quick work of it.
Stump was clean. Vines were clean as well. No signs of rot anywhere. All roots that were pulled looked white and healthy. Bug count was basically zero, and what we did find was dead. Not what I expected pulling a plant in mid-August where I had dialed back insect prevention once Judy went down. Powdery mildew had set in here and there, but I'm not surprised given it has been over a month since I sprayed.
The real finding was root response to the burial mix. Everywhere I'd buried a node in Seacoast Potting mix, the roots went nuts. This was especially true where roots were on top of the old play sand zone. The 3" layer where Judy sat earlier in the season. Roots under and through that sand didn't just proliferate, they knit into a mat close to 4" thick. Pulled up almost as one piece. Worth thinking about more before next season. Sand isn't nutritionally doing anything for the plant, so the response has to be structural: drainage, aeration, temperature buffering, something about pore structure that the roots were keying into in combination with rich potting mix on top combine with drip irrigation.
Had to take the obligatory photos of the main vine and the crown pulled out of the ground. Hard to believe this plant was just a seedling four months ago.
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