Hi Jackie, you can trim off the ends but that vine will stop growing and you may see a reduction in the number of acorn squash to harvest. You can alway redirect the vines to try and take up less space or if you do want to still trim the ends of the vines, look for an area where another growth tip or vine is growing off of it and trim the main vine above the growth tip so you will still have more plant growth which will lead to more squash to harvest. Hope that helps and have fun growing!

Hi Lisa Ann, it is likely very difficult to garden in Las Vegas as it is, even more so if you don’t have much time to dedicate to your garden space. I would first look into your irrigation system and be sure that it is sufficient for what you are trying to do. Drip irrigation is likely the best option so that is the first place to start (that goes for your fruit trees as well), when it comes to your vegetable garden, growing veggies during the middle of the summer is likely out of the equation for most people in Vegas. I would likely switch my growing season around to grow in late fall, through winter and into early spring before the really hot weather kicks in. If you want tomatoes, start them in late winter/early spring and grow short season determinate varieties that my bloom and produce fruit before the hot weather starts, temperatures over 95 degrees will keep tomatoes from setting fruit.

In all, it really depends on what you want to grow but it is best to stick with varieties of vegetable and fruit trees that do well in a hot climate like Las Vegas while also growing in the appropriate seasons. I am assuming June, July, and August are months to avoid trying to grow much in the garden. The other thing is proper drip irrigation and mulch to help maintain soil moisture, we have many articles on drip irrigation and mulch if you want to look into those topics further. Hope that helps and good luck!

Hi Sandy, thank you so much for the kind words! The pumpkin trellis is amazing but unfortunately it isn’t ours, although we do hope to build something similar this winter for next season. Do you have any winter squash growing in your garden this year?

Hi Evelyn, thanks for sharing! Good luck growing your winter squash this year and the Autumn Frost is supposed to have a high resistance to powdery mildew so hopefully it holds up well for you. Have fun growing!

Hi Kay, absolutely you can use other squash to make pumpkin butter although some may be better suited for it than others. We love making our butternut “pumpkin” pie and you wouldn’t be able to tell that it isn’t made with pumpkin. Making your own puree definitely takes more time than using canned pumpkin but it is a great way to preserve your harvest if you are growing a lot of winter squash and end up with a bountiful harvest.