Wayne: I've noticed the exact same thing. I hope our pumpkins start growing again. It was 105 at my house on Saturday, but I know it must've been 10 degrees hotter in Morgan Hill. That was some miserable weather.

Side note: taking a page from my friend Wayne, I provided 3 pumpkin plant starters to my friend Steve. One was an AG, the other 2 were "Wayne's Wonder". I finally saw how his plants were progressing last Saturday. He has got 3 big pumpkins! The Wayne's Wonder are beautifully round and maybe 70 pounds each. His AG is not so round but it too is pretty big. I should see if his growth has slowed as well. cheers deep

Giant pkns don't like 100 degrees. If it doesn't kill them outright, it stresses them out so they catch diseases they would normally be able to fight....or become succeptable to bugs which seem to like 100 degrees. Good soil, good seed, good weather and good luck. Two for Four might get you in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown but it ain't gonna do it in Giant Pumpkins.

It's possible the pumpkins are aborting. If you don't have any other pumpkins set on the plant, I'd get some more set. I've had very hot weather here in MN. Some of my early sets aborted early on.

Thanks guys. The one pumpkin is definitely aborting. It's shrivelling up now. Plant seems healthy. Primary is about 13 feet long, but no new females yet. Lots of males. Time will tell. Going to fertilize again tomorrow.

On a happier note, CC watermelons are doing well....

I hope heat is the answer - my AG's just won't set. The largest plant has a main vine over 36 ft long, with several secondary vines. All female flowers shrivel before they open. Only my Big Moon has set, and I am worried about it as three smaller ones started to shrivel yesterday. I guess it's looking forward to next year, again. Maybe I'll concentrate on giant pigweed, seems I have a good crop of them!.....Elder (Lou)

AG pumpkin is basically dead. But the plant is doing well. A second female flower opened today, about 12 feet out on the same primary. I hand-pollenated it; time will tell. The weather here is now a more comfortable 85 degrees.

Wayne

Keep the plant as healthy as possible (mildew season) and you may be back in biz. The heat here a week or two ago has aged my fruits considerably...30 day old fruit that were doing 30 a day are doing 12 and look like they are 60 days old. I don't think theres a recovery ahead. Some years are good, the years where the heat wave acts up, drought, or too much rain at the wrong time....well...its a character builder. Have backups in "other" crops....so when pkns don't do it the watermelon will (ours is huge..at least WE think its huge). Once you're resigned to the fact that its hard to grow cool weather crops in hot weather years you'll be ok....you can still do it and pray for that special weather year but be comforted in the knowledge that everyone in your nieghborhood has the same weather....you can beat THEM---, maybe not the Canadians.