Sam,
i love your projects; So inspiring!
Regarding the pumpkins, you will likely have noticed that these squash plants will re-root into the ground along the length of the vine. This is probably what allowed it to grow so long at the car park. This may have limited the growth on the pumpkin house.
Regarding alternatives, i would recommend a simple pole bean. Plant one side and then plant the other side 2 weeks later so that all the beans don't come at the same time. i used an heirloom called Kentucky Wonder but there are many.
Here is a photo of the beans we planted in Mexico. i planted them very close together, every 2". They ended up climbing 10 feet and created a lot of shade.
Awesome brother. I knew you would have some suggestions having experienced a much more consistent heat than ours. Beans would actually be perfect for this! Somehow we didn't plant any this year. Only the dwarf variety which grow without supports. Good call on staggering the planting. There are only so many beans one can eat each week ;)
I did wonder how a lack of secondary root points would affect the pumpkin plants and in fact I can't see that it has made any difference. They are still pushing 6M today (with at least a few more months left in the growing season) and don't seem like they want to slow down. Our biggest problem was the hail which killed 50% of the leaves and even completely snapped some of the growing points. New shoots are appearing now however and the roof is naturally re-building itself. Which is very heart-warming to see!
Six of the pumpkins have turned orange already and I am wondering if this means they are ready to harvest? Normally they don't change colour till later in the year.
i believe that most squash will show their ripeness when the stem dries up.
Nice looking red russian kale you have there on the bottom left!