severed pumpkin

[FlowerFaerie]

I bought a pumpkin plant from my local garden centre,it had one vine which was about 20cm in length.

i planted it in my veg patch and a few days later a small flower began to grow.The next morning i found the entire vine had been chopped off,right at the point where it comes out of the soil.

now is this the work of a pesky squirrel? or something else,im at a total loss here.

[Lesley Jay]

It's been really windy around here - has it been where you live?

Or it could be a slug.

[Lez]

Sorry to hear of your pumpkin plant but at least you can have another shot at it. My cut off happened when I joined a sponsored competition for the heaviest pumpkin in aid of the local hospice. a lad who was not the full ticket, a few sandwiches short of a picnic (get my drift) was putting up a shed on a plot three down from me one friday afternoon. I had two I had nurtured and was very pleased with the progress. I fed and watered them then went home. The next morning went down the plot with my mate and someone had got a saw and cut the biggest one in half. I wonder who? some jealous cretin. I see the lad from time to time and he makes a point of avoiding me. Still I won the competition and the hospice benefitted to the tune of over £200 in sponsorship. so in spite of him all was well.

[FlowerFaerie]

could have been the wind,is there any way to prevent this again?

thats very true,think il pop to my garden centre for another one and hopefully have better luck

[Lesley Jay]

You could rig up some form of wind break around the plant until it is established. Maybe using cane sticks with bubble wrap going around. Pumpkin vines grow extra roots along the vine and you can put a small mound of soil over the vine at the leaf axils to encourage these roots to help anchor the vine.