here's the thing about growing pumpkins..

 Here is the vine that I thought might put a pumpkin on the roof of the shed.. It's now heading away from the shed.. for now anyway..

 The massive mess that is right on the edge of the pumpkin patch.. They are growing more in the ally than the pumpkin patch.. HEY GUYS, THERE'S ROOM IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH TO GROW.. they never listen..

 A better picture of the two vines growing in the lilacs.. Trash pick up day is.. thursday until they say otherwise..

 I added the second cage to the moby grape tomato.. Will it remain in there or sprawl to.. somewhere else..

 One of the just discovered pumpkins that is on the railroad ties that line the ally planter..

 Here's the thing about pumpkins.. they can rot on the vine.. For what reason?? I have no idea.. They rot they grow.. My feeling is they might not get enough energy and sustenance from the leaves which can be dying from being ate by bugs or rotting them selves or being beaten the shit out of by hail.. I read where calcium deficiancy can be a cause.. Also too much water.. I have no clue.. The first year I had some 7 pumpkins make it and I don't remember any rotting on the vines.. (could also be too many pumpkins in the area, too many plants)...  I knew this one was in trouble a week after finding it..

 Another little guy starting out..

hu... No pictures of the big one in the tree.. Well thems the breaks.. But it seems to be doing fine.. It would be a fairly big heart breaker if it went toes up..  But that's the update.. I did this last week and we got nailed by that wind.  I'm not showing off this week..

I'm clipping the blossoms on the pumpkin plant at the rate of about a dozen a day.. Hoping to make the plants concentrate on the pumpkins that are there, hoping that they get toughened up and growing and developed to where they don't rot..

Badge Henry


(P.S. Today (sunday) I went out on a blossom run, clipping extras that are getting too late to set on and do much at all and.. There was anther pumpkin that was rotting on the vine.. This was smaller than the one pictured here in this entry.. Just barely had started.. My feelings is I would love to have more pumpkins and hate the idea of pulling the blossoms off but on the other hand my feeling is that the plants are struggling to get the pumpkins to mature because the leaves are getting eaten or destroyed by bugs or weather.. More bugs eating the leaves.. I tried a bug spray to get control of the bugs but.. Not sure that worked or will damage the plants.. I only sprayed the pumpkin patch proper.. There are around a dozen really healthy pumpkins out there.. Then there are a few others that are just setting on.. Our weather is turning not as hot as it can be at this time of year.. We are in the mid to upper 80's when last year we were in the mid 90's consistently.. What does that mean for pumpkin development?? Good question.. The first year I tried pumpkins they grew well.. What was the difference from that year and every year since then??  Good question.. Still I am learning/guessing what I am doing.. )