#pumpkin problems

[pumpkin-patch]

Things are winding down quick so I'm not really intervening on some issues that I probably would've earlier in the season. I think one vine has some disease issue, both pumpkins on it are looking a little funky. This one's leaking sap enough to form this big resinous blob. I assume this is either insect damage or a spot that's rotting for whatever reason that's trying to heal itself off. It's sort of gummy right now but after harvest it will harden. Shelf life will be short so definitely the first to carve!

[pumpkin-patch]

On the subject of stem breaks I wanted to show this. While transverse breaks can be fatal, longitudinal stem splits are not necessarily a handicap. I've even had them split in two and still bear fruit.

Leggy seedlings seem prone to doing this (with there being a greater length of stem exposed between the soil line and the first node) although how these particular seedlings have any business being leggy with the blast furnace level sun they're getting, I'm not sure.

I'll mound up some soil to encourage more rooting but I'm honestly not even sure that's necessary.

[pumpkin-patch]

First big storm of the season yesterday with crazy wind gusts. Despite the protections I rigged up, my best Renegade vine got snapped right at the base. It wasn't completely severed but looked about 80%. BUT I've seen miraculous recoveries before, so I put a cardboard tube around it and packed it with soil and mulch as soon as I noticed it (within a few minutes probably).

Here it is this morning and I'm relieved to see it's looking okay. If I don't see any significant wilt in today's midday sun I think I'll feel safe to say I'm getting away with this.

This stage, when vines are getting bushy but still growing upright, just before they bend over on their own weight and start to run - that's when they're especially susceptible to wind. If you expect wind gusts you can prop them up on the lee side or place an empty pot over the whole plant.

update: 👍

[pumpkin-patch]

Ma'am I don't know if you know what you're doing in there

[pumpkin-patch]

(sad trombone): having lows back in the mid 80s is a relief for me but still not comfy enough for my Pipsqueaks, I've lost the first females on all my vines. At least there are lots more chances coming, hopefully they'll line up with cooler nights before too long.

(happy trombone (?): I have some female buds coming along on two of my three Pyrolga vines and both look like the egg shape I want! Its genetic odds are a tossup between that and a small, flattened/round shape that's still cool but less unique. This variety has done well for me in the past about blooming and setting fruit in warm temps, so we'll see if these beat Pipsqueaks to the punch.

[pumpkin-patch]

Ha, you're too late to ruin my crop. How embarrassing for you

[pumpkin-patch]

Here's a pumpkin with leaf miners in it, and they kept mining after I harvested it. The more translucent looking trails are fresher and the whiter ones are older scarring. If I had given this a bleach bath immediately after harvest it might have stopped them.

[pumpkin-patch]

Well here's a deformity I've never seen before... a cone-shaped leaf. Totally sealed on all sides. Photos just didn't explain it