We didn't have a pumpkin sprout from the compost heap but we had a jumbo pink banana squash--which, I guess, is like a pumpkin-in-the-long. It was growing along an old stockade fence that was mostly covered with ivy. I didn't know if any fruit were developing, couldn't tell at all. Then one day I was looking out my window at this fence and I saw something very big and long and peachy-pink. I went out and looked and there it was, a ginormous pink banana squash. Obviously, it had no support other than its own stem, which was very thick and held up this 25 lb monster without aid. We cut the squash down and cured it for a few days and then divvied it up with the family. Yum Yum, free food does taste best ;-) The squash was a volunteer from the compost heap, but I've also grow, on purpose other large winter squashes or gourds and I've never tied them up or supported them. On their own they will thicken their stem and support their own weight if grown on a fence or trellis, or rooftop--where my last squashes grew up to, the garage roof has a slope and they did not slip. If you want you can sling up your punkies with pantyhose, give it try, but if you have a few other pumpkins then let a few grow without assist and see how that works out. Personally, I hate fussing over plants, but I can appreciate the care that man people give their plants.

Well, I understand you very well! I never knew we had Picea Abies in the woods in my province in The Netherlands, but it turns out it actually grows in every wood over here. That was fantastic to see. I was obsessed by these trees 20 years ago and lamented it wasn't here, bar some plantations. I stopped with this hobby and through weather (winter!) photography I ventured into the woods again and walked into them. After 3 months I found a couple of large firs (Abies Alba) and then, unexpected: hundreds of seedlings of those firs!!! I cheered! But the biggest cheer came a month later, when I discovered what I did not expect: a Picea Abies seedling. Simply a fantastic day! So congratulations with your tree! Are there more European conifers growing there? BTW: Larix Decidua grows here, in the same woods, aswell and in full sun I think it actually grows really fast. So I do not know about your climatic conditions, but a foot tall seedling is may be 2 years old I guess...It grows poorly when there is no sun.

You might try sprinkling a light dusting of sevin dust around the plants under the cloches in case it is ants or pill bugs. See what happens. Just a thought. Bill P.

honey33 you did the right thing. We had to have our 11 year old lab put to sleep at the end of May. She had had arthritis for a time and was on pain killers. One day she just couldn't put her leg on the ground. I took her to the vets and they did Xrays. She had torn all of the ligaments in her knee. The arthritis was very bad in both knees. The vet explained the options - surgery that possibly would not be successful because of the arthritis, and while she was recovering the possibility of tearing the ligaments in the other knee was great because of the stress on it. They could not guarantee that she would ever be pain free again. I talked to the vet for what may have been hours. I had told them many years ago that when the time came, if I did not see that my beloved pet was in pain then they should tell me. We decided to give her heavy pain medication and bring her home for the day and night. It broke my heart to take her to the vets the next day. I knew I was doing the right thing. This was not about me, it was about my dog. Bess slipped away peacefully. That weekend I was wracked with guilt about killing her. I spoke to the vet several times over the next few days, and each time she gently told me that I had done the most wonderful thing for my dog, she was now pain free. She had had a wonderful life, but it was her time now. I miss her like crazy, no one to wake me in the morning, to be there when I get home, to snuggle at my feet, but deep in my heart I know I did the right thing. So, I know the pain that you feel, but knowing that she had a good life and she was deeply loved by you, you did the kindest thing for her. You were not selfish like some people who keep their pet alive because they cannot face what you and I have been through. The pain will lessen over time people tell me, but I still cannot come home without feeling sad.