[RJR_38]

I put my toms and squash out on the balcony this morning as we have glorious sunshine here and I am going to begin hardening them off. Anyway, within 5 minutes of them being out a pigeon landed on my prize squash plant (the best one of them all) and bent its main stem. I have repotted it in a deeper pot so the 'crease' is right near the base of the plant but is it essentially a goner now do you think? It goes through just over half the stem. Am so annoyed - of all the things it could have landed on!

[JayG]

Depends on the amount of internal stem damage - if it doesn't start wilting in the next few days you may well have got away with it. 

[RJR_38]

Ok, we'll I have just given it some liquid seaweed and put it in the mini greenhouse where it will be a bit more protected so fingers crossed!

[Beetroot queen]

Pigeon for tea then. Silly birds my cat rates them highly in the cat tasty meter.

Would it be worth popping in a lolly stick to support the stem.

[RJR_38]

I don't know - all my squash and courgettes are getting to the point where they are getting 'long' and trailing rather than growing up and are about 12 inches long now so they will be planted out next weekend hopefully as the frosts should have gone from here by then. I know they are trailing plants so should they be supported when they are planted out anyway or do I just let them 'do their thing'?