From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Manitoba

You know when you cut off a few leaves near your pumpkin, there's an open tube left over pointing straight upward. Is that a problem, with it gathering water from rain (I don't have a proper cover yet; am making one today, I hope)or a nice cozy home for little insects? Tks.

7/27/2015 11:10:48 AM

Germany

You did identify the potential problem, so go ahead and make the best out of your new knowledge :-)
- If the "open tube" is pointing to the ground, because the leaf grew from the other side of the vine, then it isn´t a problem.
- If the leaf grew straight up, thus having the bottom of the open tube facing the sky, then you should (using a very sharp knife or razor blade) cut the leaf stalk back as good as you can, so that there isn´t any tube left (but be careful to not cut off too much tissue, you still want to keep the surface area of the wound to a minimum).

7/27/2015 11:37:46 AM

N.c.

The issue is rot. You will want to trim the leaf to the point that no water will collect in the tube structure. You will need to trim close to the vine.

7/27/2015 11:38:01 AM

N.c.

You were not there a minute ago Pumpking, I see you answered the question quite well.

7/27/2015 11:40:32 AM

Manitoba

Grazie mille! (That's Italian.) I came into the house from my patch just to see if there would be any answers, and there they were. Yes, I thought that maybe I should take a real sharp little knife and cut as much off as possible, but wanted to see if there were other possible solutions.

7/27/2015 1:04:03 PM

Easthampton, MA

Oh god... Now I have another task to do. ;) I have a few hollows poking out, so I better take care of them.

Thanks MeToo! for the question.

7/27/2015 7:44:11 PM

Easthampton, MA

Well.. I did some cleaning today and I discovered some problems for sure, but not rot from bad cuts. I just posted a bunch of pics and chat about it in my new diary. They won't show until tomorrow it looks like. Stay tuned though...

The diary is a 'don't let this happen to you' series of entries. Arrrgg.. It's a bit embarrassing for me to show my patch, but it might help other newbies, and should make them feel good about their attempts. :) Always learning.

7/28/2015 6:45:55 PM

Manitoba

Hi, MadMike. I am looking forward to your list of mistakes. Couldn't be any worse than mine.

7/29/2015 12:02:40 AM

Easthampton, MA

Oh, I'd have a hard time believing that. :) You can see the diary now. 'MadMike' Get ready to feel good about your plant. *grin*

7/29/2015 11:27:45 AM