Having wasted valuable time & effort trying to find their root stem amongst a canopy of vicious leaves, I made a mid-season resolution this am. Put a marker stake in at the root when planting.
Otherwise you're wasting water.
I did that this year Tim. Put something on the top of the stakes so you don't bonk your face or take and eye out. However, with all the rain we have had, I have only watered the cucumbers and melons that are under cover.
hmmm, wasting water this year wasn't an option ;) but in dry weather water often runs off and away from where it is needed most so you could always put into the ground an upturned mineral water bottle next to the roots and then water straight into that and it will go where it is needed most
We've known that's what we ought to do for years; finally got round to it this year. (Got nagged by OH.)
Plant a cane by the root; take a plastic bottle & cut off the base, invert it onto cane. That's where you pour your water - straight down to the root.
Only problem (??) is that this year we haven't actually watered the squashes yet!! Nice architectual feature, though.
yes i did that last year and it was fine.
This year i have only watered them a few times and as there are other plants in with the pumpkins i have just poured a watering can of water over everything and it seams to be working.
I am putting it down to this year being a red herring and will go back to the way of things last year when i plant my next crop.
I very skillfully managed to engender just the right amount of desease in mine such that they still produced plenty of fruit but had relitively little leaf on them so I can see just where to water 'em ;D (well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it :-[)
Bottle in the ground? Yes - but just try to find it when you have a 6'X3'X2' bush of vicious leaves!
but that's where the cane comes into use sticking up high above the leaves - invest in some gardening gloves ;)
I currently have a squash plant 25 feet long, 9 feet wide and 2 feet high. It is planted through black plastic and covers the entire area, The other 8 plants I planted through the plastic were all eaten by slugs - just as well.
Having invested in a pair of gloves should I now invest in some scaffold towers to try to find the hole through which the plant grows??!!
Perhaps we need a thread entitled 'all good intentions' for 2008!