So stupid! I just cut the main stem on my squash!

[Cola82]

I was watering on the patio this morning and I like to pull off dead parts of the plants while I'm out there now that I'm working all the time, and I noticed when I pulled a particularly brown/dead leaf/stem off of the main vine that there were worms in it. I don't know if they were cucumber beetle larvae or wireworms or something else. They were kind of far up. In any case, I was worried about them migrating down to the main stem and killing the plant, so I looked over to see how far that part of the vine went and it only looked like on of the dead end vines (the plant has dropped all of its fruit but one, so I consider them dead ends). So I grabbed my shears and cut the vine, and right as I did, I pulled on it and noticed it didn't give as much as it should, because of course it was the main vine growing up to my only fruit which is woven all around the stakes.

I did my best to bury the part that I cut. It had root nodes, although now that I think about it, I may have also buried the worms. Augh... anyway, I'm pretty heartbroken. Here are some photos. I know that even if the main stem roots again, it's too late for the fruit (and too late to grow any more). Do you think the fruit looks far enough along that maybe it could finish up on the counter?

[Cola82]

Seriously, help?

[Taiji]

All I can do is sympathize with you! I accidentally did the same thing a few days ago. I had a butcher knife and was using it as a machete to cut some spent cornstalks to make them easier to dig in. Later, I noticed I had severed one of my butternut squash vines too. Mine are so far along I don't think it will make any difference, I think they've gleaned all the nutrition they're going to from the plant. The consolation is I didn't cut my finger off! (this time)

[applestar]

Wow, I'm sorry you didn't get a reply until Taiji.
I didn't know the answer though....

Did you bring in the squash? How is it doing?

[Cola82]

Well I'm glad you asked, actually! I read somewhere online that I probably should have tried to graft it back on, but I decided to leave the vine buried and see what happens. Most of the leaves on the vine turned brown and shriveled up, but the vine itself is still green and the upper leaves are all still alive. They wilted for a while but came back. Best guess is that it put out roots along one of the nodes I buried--just enough to keep it limping along. The fruit has continued to ripen. I was sure that even if it developed roots the fruit would still rot. I have no idea, though. Without digging it up these are all just guesses. It may just be ripening because it would have anyway.

I have no idea what the quality will be like, but I'm checking up on it every morning and making sure the soils stays moist.

Meanwhile, I went ahead and cut down the rest of the original plant. It wasn't going to produce any more fruit and it was just a haven for PM, which has been exploding on other plants now that it's been raining every day. I'll take pictures tomorrow.

[Cola82]

Pffffffft, and other disappointed noises... I spoke too soon. All of the leaves are dead now and the vine is turning brown, but the fruit still seems okay. Who knows what's going on inside? Here's a photo I took a couple days ago.



Guess we just have to wait and see.

[LRC]

Four days ago while removing a large butternut squash with multiple stems, I mistakenly cut the main stem to another squash. Within minutes the leaves were wilting. I decided to try to save the plant (really the young squash) and immediately submerged the cut end in a container of water mixed with fertilizer/food. While the leaves still look wilted, today there is a new blossom. I'm encouraged by this since it might give my young squash more time to ripen.