Ken & Sally wrote:

I believe you're refering to secondary roots that develop later under each
leaf junction......"Secondary roots potentially can develop on the vine at
the base of each leaf stem . Encourage this as much as possible. The
secondary roots can add weight to your fruit. A second benefit of
secondary roots is that it anchors the plant in the ground along the
entire vine system and allows the plant to better withstand
windstorms.".......I removed all the "curly feelers" from my 854 lber last
year....Ken



MacTech wrote:

I hope someone can help me. i have pumpkin plants grwing in my garden.
They have started to sprout curly feelers if thats what they are
called. Are they needed? can I pluck them off? they are starting to
attatch to my
other plants in the garden. thanks.

Do not pluck the feelers off. Those are secondary root systems. When
the vine is laying on the ground those feelers will bring nutrients
directly into the vine. They also help anchor the plant, without them
you can end up with a shredded plant the next time a big wind blows.
You should gently unwind them from the other plants and lay the vine
on the ground.

Randy

Share the View.
http://ruralroute2.com

It sounds to me like the person asking the initial question was referring to
the tendrils, not the secondary roots. The tendrils (IIRC) are a modified
leaf (or is that a modified stem? I forget which) that reacts to shade by
growing toward it, thus wrapping itself around anything it touches because
the point where it touches blocks off the light.

Roots are good. Leave them alone.

If tendrils wrap around other plants and threaten them, remove the tendrils.
I usually unwrap them but if there were too many to do this with, would
probably nip them off with a knife or garden shears.

Bill

--
Zone 5b (Detroit, MI)
I do not post my address to news groups.