Leggy Pumpkins!

[chris]

Argh. Didn't expect this to happen.

All my squash that germinated have got rather leggy (left them in the bath for a week whilst we were away on holiday). They're just showing their first true leaves - what's the best method of action for them? I don't really want to get rid, as they were from the squash parcel.

Just going to move them out into the greenhouse, but is there anything else I can do? I'm planning to plant them out in a couple of weeks or so... my last frost date is end of April, so going to give them a couple of weeks I think before they go out incase we're caught out with a frost again.

[zazen999]

How leggy?

I usually pot them on, put the root ball to the opposite side so that the legginess can be potted up their first set of true leaves.

[chris]

Probably 6-8" tall before their seed leaves.. Last year I did the same, and they didn't get leggy... no idea what the light levels were like here mind.

So the stem won't rot if I lie it on it's side and cover it with compost then? cool, didn't realise that..

[Jeanied]

I'm making extra long newspaper tubes for mine, Chris - wrapping it round an aerosol tin to get the length - then potting the tubes into a flower bucket.
They are stem rooters so you can bury them when you plant them out as well.

[chris]

Of course, I did see the stems trying to root before! Great, I'll bury them deeper.. going to have to pot them on I think - May bang them in flower pots for now, not water them (compost is too wet tbh - must have sucked the towel dry!) for a couple of days so they dry out a bit before they go onto the plot!

[Pies]

Nothing to worry about they will end up all over the ground anyway so being leggy wont hurt.Just protect them from the wind when you plant them out you mght even need to stake them down