"AndyS" wrote in message
oups.com...

TQ wrote:
"AndyS" wrote in message
ups.com...
Andy writes:
Well, my garden is doing well and I have prolific cantalope
growing.
I have
noticed that the cantalope vines come out of the hill, and spread all
around
for 10 feet or so, never penetrating the ground. So it is obvious
that
all
the nutrients and water are coming thru the hill they are planted
in.,..,

[snip]

.. Oh..... and would the same apply to cucumbers and watermellons. ?

I think you/ll find, as the season wears on, roots emerging from the
vines
well away from the hill.

Andy comments:

Well, the cucumber season is about over and I have gotten dozens of
them, and there are NO roots from the vines other than in the hill.....

The cantalope are almost ripe, and the vines are 10 feet long, and
there
are no roots except in the hill......

Of course, I don't know what the roots under the hill do, but I
really doubt
that they are growing much horizontally..... The vines grow out very
very
quickly, and the soil is clay.....

Have you had any experience that conflicts with mine, or are you
just speculating ?

The roots that grow at the nodes along the vine are called adventitious
roots. I see them every year on my cucumber and squash plants and have seen
them on pumpkin and watermelon, too. Not sure if these roots merely anchor
the vine or provide water and nutrients,too.