Weeds in Pumpkins

For the newspaper, it works great, although 1 or 2 sheets won't last the season ... 6 should be good. A Better idea I've found is to grab all of the cardboard you can get your hands on and use that instead (but you gotta remove tape and don't use slick stuff or it won't decay but just cause a mess). Mulch is always good all around even if you don't have paper under it.

Dave F: A fungus normally won't kill a plant quickly. It's usally a slow death or perhaps even just a long sickly unproductive life. My guess would be the squash vine borer if it was a quick demise with no other evidence (they live in the vines of squash plants so you don't see anything except for maybe a small entrance hole at the vine's base).