Pumpkin Update: Harvested!!

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We decided it was time to head out to our mini pumpkin patch and pick our pumpkin!  It was almost completely orange and our front porch was in need of some color.  The pumpkin is a little smaller than it looked on the vine, but still big enough for Hudson to carve...well he won't actually be the one carving it, but you know what I mean.

Here's the hubby cutting it off the vine.

I think even the little man was excited about it! 

(His glasses were broken all week, but we got them back on Saturday.)

It has some cool warts!

I'm so proud of my first pumpkin...technically I grew my own pumpkins in first grade, but this time my parents didn't help me!

(not my best picture!)

The small pumpkin is still on the vine and has changed from light green to dark green, so hopefully that means it will be changing to orange soon and then we can pick it too.

Pumpkin Update: Half and Half

The pumpkin is much more orange now (half orange/half green) and the tiny pumpkin is now about the size of a softball.  So, it looks like we really will get more than one!  Yay!!

Isn't is pretty?!

So happy to have another one!  I don't think it will get very big, but I like them little anyway.

I saw this little guy lurking around.  Kinda cute...

Pumpkin Update: Turning Orange

Our pumpkin is finally turning orange.  Just slightly.  Oh, and now that it's the end of the growing season, our vine decided to start growing more pumpkins!  That figures!!

This wannabe pumpkin had a little friend!

Pumpkin Update: Big and Green

Our pumpkin continues to get bigger.  It's about the size of a soccer ball now and it's turned a dark shade of green.  I read that once the nights start to really cool down, the pumpkin starts to turn orange.  It's already been getting down into the 50's here at night, so I'm guessing it will soon change from dark green to bright orange.  I am hoping that it gets a little bigger so that it's easier to carve.

Last weeks picture

Today's picture

Here's the little man checking out his crop.

This big huge vine and only one pumpkin!

Pumpkin Update: Just One

It looks like we'll probably only be getting one pumpkin off our vine this season, but that isn't going to stop me from trying again next year!  And the one we have is really getting big.  I went out to take a picture and lift it up and it's probably close to weighing a couple pounds.  

Pumpkin Update: A Baby

There it is!  The first actual pumpkin on our vine!  I'm soooo excited I can hardly contain myself!  It's actually much bigger than it looks in this picture.  And after checking out the entire vine, I'm happy to report that there are 5 other female flowers just waiting to bloom and turn into pumpkins.  I also got an update from my mom yesterday and she counted 13 on their vine!  Can you believe that?!  Now I even more excited to see how many we end up with.

Pumpkin Update: The Start of a Fruit

I went out to check on the pumpkins this afternoon (I've been trying to stay away because of all the mosquitoes that surround it) and it's looking much better and I think I even spotted the start of a pumpkin.  It's about time!!  I had given one of the other seedlings that I started this spring  to my parents who live in Sioux Falls and they already have 3 growing on their vine.  I was so jealous, but it looks as though we might get a least one pumpkin after all!

It's starting to creep into our neighbors side yard...oops

Here is the tiny little pumpkin.  Yay!!  This is the first female flower that I've seen on the vine since the cucumber beetle infestation.  I also noticed another one right beside this one, only it's smaller, but maybe that one will start to grow too.

I love seeing sun tea jars outside brewing.  It won't be long before it will be too cool to make my sun tea.  bummer.  So, I'm taking advantage of the weather as much as possible before it's too late.

Pumpkin Update: Not Looking Good

Somehow our pumpkins are still alive despite the fact that they have been taken over by cucumber beetles.  As you can see in the pictures below, there are 2 offshoots, but the main vine where they connect looks pretty bad...as in dried up and dead.  Now, I'm no pumpkin growing expert, but I don't think this is what is supposed to happen. 

Here is a pic of the main root source.  I'm not sure how the rest of it is even still alive!

Even though it doesn't look like we'll be getting any pumpkins off this, I couldn't just let it die considering the offshoots still look fairly healthy, so I made a trip to Earl May and asked for something that might work to get rid of our pesky pests. This is what they suggested:

So, I sprayed it last night and again this morning when there were more beetles present. Hopefully it will get rid of them so there might be a chance of the plant surviving, but the spray didn't seem to affect the bugs on impact, so I won't keep my hopes up!  I'll be so disappointed if it dies and a little discouraged from trying again next year...

Pumpkin Update

It's now about 15 feet long!  It may have a cucumber beetle infestation, but I'm not positive.  I guess I'll have to keep a close eye on it for a while.   I wouldn't want anything to happen to it!

Pumpkin Update: GIGANTIC

June was very good to our crop!  It just keeps growing and growing and growing!  I wonder when the actual pumpkins start to grow?  Is it weird that I'm so happy about growing our own pumpkins?!

I can barely fit the whole thing in the frame.

Pumpkin Update

I'm amazed at just how fast this thing is growing!  It's really starting to take over that little corner of the yard and Jeremy keeps asking me what he's supposed to do with it when he has to mow.  I guess he'll just have to push it out of the way!  This picture doesn't do the size justice at all.

How Big Will It Get?

Our little pumpkin patch is starting to expand into the lawn.  This picture was taken last week, so it's much bigger than this already.  I wonder how many pumpkins we'll get?

Pumpkin Update

The pumpkin has been in the ground for about a month now, and it's looking great!  It finally got it's first flower last week, so I guess that means we'll hopefully have pumpkins come fall!  I can't wait!

Start of a Garden

We are trying our hand at growing our own pumpkins this year.  They can be so expensive and we really love carving them and decorating with them in the fall.  I actually grew some once when I was in first grade.  It was super easy and they grew like weeds!  I saved seeds from our pumpkins last year, planted them in a plastic cup to get them started and now we transfered them to their little area in the yard.

I hope they survive!  I'll keep you updated.