Raising pumpkins is a very time consuming and
labor-intensive venture! In May we worked the ground
to prepare for planting. In early June we planted
over 10000 pumpkin and gourd seeds with an antique John
Deere lister, planting over 7 acres of pumpkins!
July through October are filled with sweaty days
of hoeing weeds, fertilizing, irrigating, and
spraying to eliminate bugs that harm
pumpkins.
Pumpkin Varieties
Different pumpkin varieties grow to different sizes,
shapes and colors. This year we planted 30
varieties of pumpkins and 47 varieties of gourds and
winter squash for 77 varieties to choose from! Crystal
Star is a popular white variety that can grow to 25
pounds. Jack B Little and Bumpkin is our
mini-variety, while Prizewinners can grow to over
170 pounds. Super Herc and Captain Jack
are large varieties that can grow to over 50 pounds.
Jackpot, Magic Lantern, Merlin and Aladdin all grow
up to 30 pounds and make a nice mid-size jack o'
lantern. Autumn Gold is a beautiful smaller
pumpkin up to 15 pounds with perfect shape and
color. I plant two varieties of pie pumpkins called
Small Sugar and Mystic Plus. These varieties
have a sweeter taste to use for cooking. We
have many recipes available for people that would
like to try their hand cooking with fresh pumpkin puree.
Red Barn Country Store
We have a variety of Fall products available in our
Red Barn Country Store, including candles, pumpkin recipe
books, children's pumpkin and farming books, bracelets,
carving kits, handmade specialty pens, and fleece
blankets for chilly October days. We have shocks and
straw bales available for Fall decorating.
Fun Pumpkin Facts
Pumpkin seeds cans be roasted for a snack
1 cup of fresh pumpkin puree contains 564 mg potassium
and 2650 IU of Vitamin A
Pumpkins are used as feed for animals
Pumpkin flowers are edible
Pumpkins are used to make soups, pies, breads and many
other foods
Pumpkins are 90% water
Pumpkins are classified as a fruit
Native American Indians called pumpkins "isqoutm
squash"
Pumpkins are members of the vine crops family called
cucurbits.
Colonists removed the seeds and filled the inside of
pumpkins with milk, spices and honey.
. . . . . . This
was the origin of pumpkin pie!
Native American Indians flattened strips of pumpkins
and dried them to make mats
Native American Indians used pumpkin seeds for food
and medicine
Pumpkins have a stem, skin, tendrils, leaves, pulp and
seeds
Pumpkins are loaded with beta-carotene, an
important antioxidant.
1 cup of pumpkin puree has 12 mg of Vitamin C, 49
calories and 12 grams of carbohydrates
