Yes you can plant them deeper but no they will not sprout roots along the seedling stem (specifically the hypocotyl). Where pumpkins grow additional roots is at the base of each leaf axil. Here is a picture from last year of one of those secondary roots. This one was actually well off the ground on a trellis but it was after a long period of rain. But back to the original point think about how the seedlings grow. We try to plant seeds at the same depth but do we always, of course not. The roots of the plant come out just about at the depth the seed was planted then from that point to the surface is a buried section of the hypocotyl. And as I am sure many people have noticed the cotyledons are never the same height above the ground sometimes they are hugging the soil and sometimes they are several inches off the ground. There is always variation as to how much of the seedling stem is buried. At that early stage there isn't a point on the stem that says this section needs to be below ground and the rest needs to be above ground. And honestly if the depth mattered there wouldn't be commercial production from transplants in plasticulture. Those guys are fast at planting seedlings, they do not sit there and make sure the plants are at the exact same depth as they were in the pots. They know it doesn't matter.

Bury the bare stem part so the cluster of leaves sits just at or a bit below the soil line. Dave

Thanks - already started planting 2ft apart (a couple CP and rest BW). Just ran back in the house for cutworm collars, newpaper, and filling a 50-gal barrel with water. I wasn't planning on pruning those, just clipping to remesh fence behind them. I'll plant the determinates closer together (will have to weave those, no room in row next to fence). Martin - thanks for the info on potatoes - think I can sell Red Norland/Pontiac and Yukon Gold for that? I emailed Ag Dept, offered them new potatoes for $4/quart (about 2 lbs) and mature potatoes for $10/half peck(about 7.5 lbs) or $5/2qts(roughly 4lbs). No answer - but they haven't gotten back to me about edamame either and I need to know ASAP so I can plant enough for 30 families!

"continually added fresh water through the fill tube in an attempt to dilute the hydrated lime solution (the soil is covered by a plastic cover, which is part of the Earthbox system)." OK, I get it. Since I'm a DIYer who reads but still won't follow directions (and have no patience for being on tour buses and the like LOL), removing the cover is something I wouldn't think twice about to get rid of the excess. But a single top flood if we could turn back the clock would have addressed the problem much more effectively. More importantly, I think it may also hold a clue for you to re-enforce your original thoughts on what happened when you didn't quickly refill with the balance of water. You'd wick up the let's say 2x concentrated solution, which you already worried about ... but if the top had somewhat dried, you'd also wick up more total volume ... we are not dealing with a gas tank, but rather a sponge. Now you are slowly removing it since there will be a concentration gradient through the small wicks and what is above stays (and this might be the situation that tigrikt was thinking and helping you with too). "I usually use a bagged planting mix from the local nursery (their own "custom mix"), which contains a variety of ingredients (peat, redwood, bat guano, etc.)." tigrikt could comment better than I on this one if they are an actual EB user in your sort of climate. I'm inclined to think you have bad advice from the nursery on the soil, if there is nothing in there to cut back on the sponginess of the peat - like perlite. Redwood? perhaps you mean redwood bark? Big difference there. I'm not up on shredded redwood wood, but I do recall Dr. Gericke had some issues with it, as being somewhat acidic at least, though as a composted ingredient it would probably be good. Either way these things seem to add up to high acid (hurts calcium uptake) and high water retention - outside the sweet spot. I am assuming a lot of things online so it is more of the concern I'd check on, and recommend you learn more about the properties of soils. I understand you've grown this way for years, with reasonable results, so I'm just suggesting you go to the next level now and experiment a little with your soil mix's water retention with something as simple as some added perlite in a few Boxes if you want to take it slowly. Sey has been experimenting with a mix in containers promoted by tapla, and probably could add a few thoughts on the soil if he's still following the thread. Cheers PC edit: maybe the cover is not removable, and I assume it is. If that's the case, I'm sure a DIYer could experiment with removable covers, which I guess is going against the EB concept of set it and forget it, so it will depend on the complexity you feel is appropriate for your situation. One difference between my containers and yours is that I use a lighter mix uncovered and depend on the rain to naturally flush with pure rainwater (free distilled water). It helps keep accumulation or any errors with fertilizer supplements in check, but I enjoy supplementing with fertilizers so that is part of my growing strategy.