I joined this site to see if I can get some tips from you experts out there on growing pumpkins. This is probably going to be a rather long post, because I want to describe in detail my story of growing pumpkins, so please bear with me. I live in Southwest Ohio and I've been trying to grow pumpkins now for the past 4 years with no luck. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. First of all, I have heard that vine plants in general are much harder to grow than things such as lettuce, broccoli, etc. Is this true? Also, are pumpkins in general hard to grow?

So, here is my story about growing pumpkins. I started trying to grow pumpkins about 4 years ago. I have tried to grow the Big Max type of pumpkins and the regular old Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins. I have no problems getting the seeds to grow. I plant the seeds and they sprout a week later. They then grow like wildfire for the rest of the summer. I start seeing all kinds of miniature pumpkins popping up on each vine. Here is where my problem occurs. I can get the pumpkins to grow to the point where they start getting orange and getting some size to them. But then all of the sudden, they start to develop a soft spot and once that soft spot is on there, that pumpkin is done for. First of all, what are these soft spots and why do the pumpkins develop these soft spots? It happens to me every year and I don't how to prevent these soft spots from forming on the pumpkin. I have done research on the internet, read books and gone blue in the face trying to prevent the pumpkins from developing soft spots, but nothing has worked. I did some research on the web and one site said that pumpkins develop soft spots if one side of the pumpkin is in contact with the ground for too long. This site recommended two things to try to prevent soft spots from developing. They said to turn the pumpkin every day, so that no side of the pumpkin is in contact with the ground for too long. They also said you could place something underneath the pumpkin so that it doesn't have direct contact with the ground. I tried both and it still didn't work. I put cardboard under each pumpkin so that they weren't in direct contact with the ground. I also turned the pumpkins everyday, so that the pumpkins had no direct contact with the ground or the cardboard for too long. It didn't help one bit. They still developed soft spots. What else can I try? I have no idea what else to do to prevent these soft spots from forming. It is so frustrating, because I baby these pumpkins all summer long to the point where they start to get orange and develop some size, only to have them develop a soft spot right before they are ready to pick. I just can't get them to full maturity. They are such a tease! And it's such a deflating feeling when this happens.

Another problem I have with pumpkins is they always seem to develop a small black spot. Does anybody know this black spot is and why it develops? And what I can do to prevent it? When this black spot develops, it kills the pumpkin by basically just making it rot. Has anybody else had these same two problems that I've just described and if so, how did you prevent them? Also, has anybody had success growing pumpkins in Ohio or Southwest Ohio in general? I'm starting to wonder if maybe they just don't grow well in Ohio period, and that I may just be wasting my time. I appreciate everybody reading my post and providing me with any advice. Again, any help and tips are greatly appreciated, as I really love pumpkins and am really desperate to finally be able to grow some to full maturity where I can actually pick them and say that I grew them on my own!