pumpkins' progress

It was an exciting weekend in the pumpkin patch. The early plants (the ones started indoors because I was impatient) had undergone a growth spurt and it looked like their stems might no longer be capable of remaining upright. It was time. Time to break out the tomato cages and lend them a little support on the road to vertical pumpkin glory.

The late plants (those planted directly outside later in the spring) are also doing well but are trailing behind the early plants. Understandably.

Unfortunately, it's not all sunshine and buttercups in the pumpkin world. Something is still feasting on the leaves of the plants. My initial suspects, the ants, have been cleared. I have no new suspects. I'm hoping the plant leaves remain their food of choice, however, and that they don't turn their attention to the pumpkins themselves once they begin to grow.

Sadly, there has been one pumpkin plant death during the past week. Two plants were growing very close together, so, with the best of intentions, I attempted to move one to a new location where I believed it would be happier. Bad idea. It tried valiantly to adapt to its new home, even appearing to rally for a short time. But in the end, it withered and died. I blame myself. It's hard to believe that I descend from farmers.