Click on a thumbnail picture below to see the full size version. 11 Entries. Monday, July 2 View Page Aphids infestation on pumpkin plants. Two nights ago, sprayed with neem oil 0.9% solution (Bonide RTU Fungicide, Miticide, Insecticide). Photo shows my 5-year-old son with his giant pumpkin plants from Irvine Park RR Pumpkin Forum on 5/2018: back one is seedling labeled 1028 Gienger '09 (1110 Wallace x 1347 Wallace) and the front right one is from a seed we started labeled 1877 Kline 16 (F. 2059 Daletas, M. sib.). We had prepared our pumpkin patch with buckwheat cover crop earlier this year. Plus we loosened the clay rocky soil a few times last winter and this spring. Applied 5-5-5 organic fertilizer a couple months ago. The giant pumpkin plants got WOW starter fertilizer packs when we planted them in the ground around mid-June   Monday, July 2 View Page See previous entry   Friday, July 20 View Page Surviving the heat wave of over 100F temperatures. Two female flowers dried up and dropped.   Saturday, July 28 View Page My son tickling (hand pollinating) a female flower from the Gienger giant pumpkin seedling, which branched off into 3 large rambling vines. Two of the vines have female flowers about 10 feet away from main stem in ground. The flowers are about in the same location as last year's plant's sole pumpkin.   Saturday, September 1 View Page Looking like no pumpkins from our two giant pumpkin seedlings. Instead we have a blue-grey pumpkin!   Saturday, September 1 View Page Three pumpkin plants here looking like they are done, as my son in his "farm tractor" observes.   Saturday, September 1 View Page Three pumpkin plants here looking like they are done, as my son in his "farm tractor" observes.   Sunday, September 2 View Page No pumpkins from the Gienger plant although it grew the best out of the 4 kinds we planted in our 60 square foot patch. But looks like one from the Kline plant is still growing.   Sunday, September 2 View Page Kline pumpkin still growing but its vine has already started dying from a break a few inches from main stem from disease or pest   Sunday, September 2 View Page My son asks: Can the blue pumpkin go to the Giant Pumpkin contest? I looked at the rule book: not as a pumpkin if it's green, blue, and/or grey but as giant squash? Jarrahdale is a C. maximus though   Saturday, September 8 View Page My son is still asking: Can I enter my blue-grey pumpkin in the Giant Pumpkin weigh-off on 9/22? Now the Kline pumpkin isn't taking, it's soft in places now. The Gienger plant keeps flowering females, then pumpkins that look promising, but a couple of weeks later, soften and die. Today I spotted two greenish baby pumpkins that are still firm. Anyone else in Southern California struggling this year with their pumpkins? Is it because of more days of hot weather (over 100F), especially during pollination time? This is our second season growing giant pumpkins. Our vines and leaves looked better and we didn't get powdery mildew, just no pumpkins, except that Jarrahdale blue-grey one.