Our first year growing pumpkins was moderately successful. We harvested around 7 or 8 pumpkins.
Our second year, almost every vine was ravaged by squash bugs. I’m pretty sure we only harvested 2 small, sickly and slightly orange pumpkins.
We are now in our third year and the pumpkins are promising a huge yield. We have three small patches with pumpkins at various stages of growth.
We’ve already harvested three small ones. The boys were so eager to pick them. Joe in particular.
“Let’s get them and cut the seeds out, Mommy. Pleeeeeease?”
I, of course, gave in and we picked a few of the orangest, roundest pumpkins. The boys took them in and set them on the kitchen table.
Then, Joe got out a pair of practice scissors–the plastic kind used to cut paper shapes out–and tried to cut the stem off.
I just smiled and shook my head.
We’ll let the rest keep growing so that we’ll have a couple of loaded pumpkin patches come October.
If I can keep squashing squash bug eggs and feeding them to the chickens.
Pumpkins are growing
Orange peeks out under green leaf
Our Autumn oranges
a pinch of homestead 
Those are beautiful pumpkins! A couple years ago I had 7 gigantic pumpkins. The next year and every year since the plants were devastated by squash bugs. I quit growing them, hoping that maybe I can stop the life cycle of those truly disgusting, evil creatures.