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simplicitygardens

Pumkin Harvest Time???

simplicitygardens
15 years ago

Okay, we did it! There is an enormous pumpkin patch all glorious and growing strong. Cinderellas, Jack O Lanterns,Lumina, Full Moon Wyatts Wonder, Koboucha,Delicata on and on. My question is about harvesting these beauties. Would like to sell some through a local market here and I'm wondering if I can just start picking and taking them in. Do they need to cure or anything? Do the vines only die because of frost damage? Seems like I have memories of pumpkins sitting out in fields with alot of wilty vines all around. Maybe those were just the leftovers. Cinderellas were the first we planted and their skins are very hard and orange. Any professional advice out there? Thanks in advance!

Comments (5)

  • weirdtrev
    15 years ago

    Please take a picture! Is the market outside? If it is then your pumpkins will cure on their own. Curing isn't a necessary step before selling them. Frost will kill the vines and make all the pumpkins visible. Don't quote me on this but I believe some places actually kill their vines so that the pumpkins are more visible when picking. Sounds like you grew some of the pretty large variety pumpkins how do you plan to move all of them?

  • simplicitygardens
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks for the tips Weirdtrev. My son harvested five cinderellas this afternoon. They probably weigh about 30 to 35lbs. each, that's just a guess,haven't weighed them yet. He hauled them up to the barn in a trailer hitched to a John Deere heavy duty lawn tractor.Will put them in the truck to get them to the markets. Is that what you meant by move? Or did you mean move as in " who's gonna buy these puppies?" (lol) The store has several locations that each has an outdoor market day. A little trickle of the specialty ones will go to each for awhile until the big push towards Halloween when we'll take the white ones and the jack-o-lanterns. We will also invite friends to come and pick their pumpkins here. We are avid giant pumpkin carvers in this family. The kind of carving that requires the occasional power tool! I'm working on the old man to do some photos as I can barely navigate my way onto this GW site. So stay tuned.

  • weirdtrev
    15 years ago

    Yes that is what I meant by move. I think selling the pumpkins will be easy, everyone loves pumpkins in the Fall. And I am sure there are other people like me just dying to see the first pumpkins for sale of the season. I image those Wyatts Wonder pumpkins and Full Moon pumpkins will be quite heavy.

  • simplicitygardens
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    I was prowling around down there and did see a Wyatts Wonder that is probably 200 lbs. already. I don't think that one is leaving the property, whew! I did remember there are photos of the renaissance of the gardens on our website atmainstitute.org. Click on the 'community' page and then on 'Barnashram'photos. No pictures of pumpkins yet but you can see where they're growin'.

  • weirdtrev
    15 years ago

    That's a nice big pumpkin patch you have. Let me know if you put up any pictures with mature pumpkins. I wish I had that kind of space. I never get to grow many big pumpkins simply because I don't have the room. This year I did plant two 'Prizewinner' plants they both have one fruit about the size of a basketball. I decided rather late that I would try some, next year they will go in much sooner. I was inspired by this thread to go look for pumpkins for sale, but no luck just yet.

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