Trying to stem the tide…or tie the stem

My pumpkin is weeping. It’s been weeping for a week.

What appears to be a ‘crown pumpkin’ self-seeded in the small strip of lawn between the curb and the curb garden. The vine traveled the length of the box, flowered, and eventually produced a small, green pumpkin. Generally speaking, pumpkins start out as small, shiny-green fruits. As they grow the fruit turns a duller green, than yellow and finally orange.

This one remained green. I chalked it up to its late-season arrival and assumed it would remain green ever after. Unceremoniously, I snapped it from the vine, dug out the remaining plant, and added it to the compost pile.

Then the strangest thing happened. Clear fluid dribbled out of the top of the stem. I assumed it would stop in an hour or so, but by the next day the pumpkin sat in a puddle of slime. I turned the pumpkin upside down over a bowl and left it. The next time I checked, the bowl was full!

The pumpkin remains firm and healthy, but the stem continues to weep. I found a strand of raffia and tied it around the peduncle. Still it weeps.

It’s a mystery. Any guesses?