Do I prune my zuke/cuke seedlings?

Todd

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Jun 14, 2013, 5:56:07 PM6/14/13

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Hi All,

I have a black thumb. So if anything actually grows, I am tickled.
It hurts my heart to prune anything. But ...

This years in my garden, I planted both zucchini and Japanese cucumbers:
three seeds to a hole. To my "astonishment" ALL
three seeds now have seedlings. Big ones too!

Question for those wiser and with a green thumb: do I prune
the seedlings back to the largest one? Do I leave them
alone? Any words of wisdom?

If I prune, how do I do that? Just pull them up? Cut them with
scissors close to the ground so as to not disturb the remaining
one's roots?

Many thanks,
-T

Billy

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Jun 14, 2013, 7:23:50 PM6/14/13

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In article <kpg38m$cuc$1...@dont-email.me>, Todd <To...@invalid.invalid>
wrote:

Probably best to just keep your biggest plant. Cut or pinch. Do not
disturb roots.

OR (if you have the room)

Dig the whole damn thing up, hose the dirt off the roots, gently
separate the roots, and replant.

"There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments."
- Janet Kilburn Phillips
--
Remember Rachel Corrie
<http://www.rachelcorrie.org/>

Welcome to the New America.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg>

Todd

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Jun 14, 2013, 7:36:09 PM6/14/13

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On 06/14/2013 04:23 PM, Billy wrote:
> In article <kpg38m$cuc$1...@dont-email.me>, Todd <To...@invalid.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I have a black thumb. So if anything actually grows, I am tickled.
>> It hurts my heart to prune anything. But ...
>>
>> This years in my garden, I planted both zucchini and Japanese cucumbers:
>> three seeds to a hole. To my "astonishment" ALL
>> three seeds now have seedlings. Big ones too!
>>
>> Question for those wiser and with a green thumb: do I prune
>> the seedlings back to the largest one? Do I leave them
>> alone? Any words of wisdom?
>>
>> If I prune, how do I do that? Just pull them up? Cut them with
>> scissors close to the ground so as to not disturb the remaining
>> one's roots?
>>
>> Many thanks,
>> -T
>
> Probably best to just keep your biggest plant. Cut or pinch. Do not
> disturb roots.
>
> OR (if you have the room)
>
> Dig the whole damn thing up, hose the dirt off the roots, gently
> separate the roots, and replant.
>
> "There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments."
> - Janet Kilburn Phillips
>

Hi Billy,

Thank you! I will just snip them. I have no more room
to transplant.

I feel like the oldest hatchling pushing his younger brother
out of the nest!

Just out of curiosity, when you transplant one, why do you
hose off the dirt?

-T

Billy

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Jun 15, 2013, 12:50:13 AM6/15/13

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In article <kpg947$8hd$1...@dont-email.me>, Todd <To...@invalid.invalid>
wrote:

I only hose the dirt off the roots when i'm trying to separate multiple
plants. Hold the roots in the palm of your hand, and hold the stalks
with your thumb. Once most of the dirt is off, try to teases the plants
roots apart. Pull gently one one, and then another, until they separate.

"The best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow."
- Anon

Todd

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Jun 15, 2013, 2:39:00 PM6/15/13

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Thank you!

-T

Not my shadow!

David Hare-Scott

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Jun 15, 2013, 11:44:53 PM6/15/13

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Keep in mind that cucurbits often don't take to transplanting well so even
with all the care in the world they may not prosper. If you are setting out
to start them early use tubes and put in one seed per tube. If you are
concerned that you won't get 100% germination do a few extra tubes and
choose the best looking seedlings if you end up with too many. When you
plant out do not disturb the roots at all by sliding the root ball and soil
out of the tube and planting it in one piece.

D

Todd

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Jun 15, 2013, 11:49:01 PM6/15/13

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Thank you!

Billy

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Jun 16, 2013, 1:53:53 AM6/16/13

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In article <kpjcc0$c1g$1...@news.albasani.net>,

That is good advice, but I have separated them, and had good success.