We have a winner

Big congratulations to Anna and team Pumpkemon for their large victory for their large pumpkin. Not only was the pumpkin large but it was a beautiful round shape and color and it was nice and firm. I can't say the same for my second place finisher, Bubbah. He kind of rotted towards the end but he made a very nice Batman signaling jack-o-lantern, thanks to Carni's (of Team A-Rod) expert craftsmanship.

And thanks to Gerti and Paolo for their hosting of a lovely Halloween party. Everybody dressed up in costume and we Americans, my husband Dave and I were QUITE impressed with everyone's efforts.

Until next spring, when we decide on a new type of crop to grow. Thanks for participating!

Anita

Turning to Milk

Okay,
I'm happy to at least have a living pumpkin but I don't have a whole lot of confidence that the dwindling vine will be able to support the pumpkin in time for Halloween! So, I decided to try the milk method. The instructions are still on the site if any of you out there want to try it.  Mari-Liise wrote to give the sad news that her "Wild Thing" has died. RIP Wild Thing. And Hercules has gone into the great garden patch in the sky, as has Team ARod (sigh). Is it only Anna and me now? Tamara? How is Trojan Squash? Marisela, how is Gliese doing?

A Miracle

After being away for over 4 weeks I had very low hopes for my pumpkin plants. However, upon return I was thrilled and astonished to find that Beulah had created a healthy, viable pumpkin! looks like she was able to pollinate herself without my help. The vine has withered to a third of its original size but the pumpkin is plump and firm and looks pretty healthy. I think I am going to try the fabled "milk-method" to help it along since it's so late in the season.

How are the rest of you doing???

Still in the Race!

I have gotten some great news from team Sweetpumpkemon! Anna says he is doing well and has a handsome pumpkin of 3 kilos!

Congrats Anna!

Trouble in Hercules' Paradise

Gerti reports that Hercules has been struggling and she fears that he has died. From what I have heard and seen in photos I don't think this is the case. However, it does seem like all of our plants are having problems of some sort. Maybe they can't be grown in pots and they really need to be in the ground. Maybe next year we can rent some garden space and try again. 


Some photos of Hercules:

Bubbah OK, Buelah is Illin'

While reading up on how to deal with the gross, annoying black aphids I read that the bugs sometimes make the plants susceptible to other diseases like "Powdery Mildew". Well, my dear Buelah is fighting a bad case of Mildew and I'm really worried about her. She has the biggest pumpkin, at about 10" across (see photo 2) but her leaves are dying rapidly and I don't know if the plant will be able to support the large squash. I might start on the milk-feeding to help keep it growing. It's already starting to turn orange which i think is a bad sign considering it's not full size yet. :( wah wah wah. 

Bubbah on the other hand is holding on and he has 1 nice pumpkin growing (see below). The one on the left has since rotted (probably wasn't able to be properly fertilized while we were away in Italy). Bubbah has a couple other small females that might open in the next day or so. I think the cooler weather has slowed down the growth of blossoms.

This weekend I'll look for some "Powdery Mildew" treatments - probably a fungicide and I'll post some info if I find anything good.

Good luck everyone!

-Anita

Sweet Pumpkemon is Holding On

halooooo everyone,

before we leave for the wedding tomorrow , i force  myself to report about my sweetpomkemon . Ok we have a bit problem as i have feeling that my pumpkin is dyeing slowly, as its leaves are yellow and dry  and 2 baby pumpkins fall of, since i left it without water for 1 week while we were in France, in hope that the rain water  would be enough :) SWP is fighting !!!  but somehow it is getting new baby's still, otherwise no more problems , no black bugs no white stains or what ever,well there is not much of the green left :))))))))))))))))

Carni Gerti's bub is definitely bigger than my pumpkin :)))) 


-Anna