Despite shortage some US farms reporting great pumpkin yield

Pumpkin season has begun on a negative note. Many growers in Northeastern states saw the devastating impact of Hurricane Irene on their fall crop leading to shortages in pumpkins this October. Thankfully, a few farms benefited from the rains. “Our pumpkin crop is great this year,” states Andrea Delong of Seiple Farms, “they received just the right amount of water.”

Seiple Farms is located in Pennsylvania, one of the states hit by Hurricane Irene. While rain helps pumpkins grow in size and colour, too much rain would cause damage to the pumpkins. “They would rot earlier and become mouldy.”

Pumpkins are mainly harvested in October as a festivity for Halloween. “Our White Pumpkins are mainly sold for decoration while our Neck Pumpkin is used for baking and great in pies.” The demand for size also varies throughout the pumpkin crop. “Some customers want to carve a Jack O’ Lantern so they need a big pumpkin. The smaller ones are usually purchased by schools and other groups for students to paint.”

As the holiday nears, the revenues of pumpkins increase. “We stay open all October so people can purchase a pumpkin.” Despite the shortage, Seiple Farms has chosen to keep their set price for pumpkins. “We have about the same amount of people every year. One of the things that may change is the amount of pumpkins harvested from the fields, depending upon the quality of the crop.”

For more information:
Andrea Delong
Seiple Farms
www.seiplefarms.com