Pumpkin Update 9/27

Two days ago I decided it was time to pick 2 of the pumpkins, which were almost completely orange, so we could use them as decorations for fall.  So my 2 girls, Elizabeth and Michelle went out and each picked their first pumpkins. I had them use pruning shears to cut them from the vine.  Yes, the pumpkins are pretty small but they are real cute.

Today, I decided to let Elizabeth pick another one of her pumpkins.  So we have three now that have been harvested, and there is a bigger one still on the vine that is about 70% orange now.   Here is a picture of them along with a nice acorn squash a harvested a couple weeks ago.

So there is one mostly orange, and 3 bigger green ones still growing on the vine, plus 2 small ones the size of a baseball, bringing me to a total of 9 pumpkins, if they all mature.  

I've been slightly disappointed because I've had 4 other potential pumpkins wither and die, even after the flowers and opened and been pollinated. I don't know why that's happened. Maybe because its gotten into the mid-90s again, or maybe the plants aren't healthy enough to support more than 1 fruit per vine?  Well I should thank God that we have some success.  The other disappointing thing has been the aphids and powdery mildew. The aphids have been going nuts, attacking especially the older leaves.  There don't seem to be many predators around, and soapy spray, or blasting them with the hose has not helped much.  Also I am seeing more powdery mildew now.  I need to figure out how to keep it at bay so it doesn't cut my season shorter than it could be.  I think part of the problem is that my plants aren't as healthy anymore because they just don't get as much sunlight anymore. With the lowering of the sun and the shorter days, I think only small portions of the plants get sun for more than 6 hrs a day. Pretty much the middle of the patch looks dead, with most of the older leaves dead or dying. The growing tips of the vines still look pretty good and vigorous.  I hope I can get a few more pumpkins before they are done.   The good news is that the SVB activity has diminished, and I have only seen a few eggs the past week. But I need to keep looking every few days to make sure.