US (NC): Pumpkins much improved over last season's crop
That seems to be the consensus among local pumpkin growers, said Craig Mauney, commercial vegetable agent at the county's Cooperative Extension office. Most pumpkin growers seem very happy with this year's harvest, he said.
Pumpkins aren't a major crop in North Carolina – the N.C. Department of Agriculture estimates only about 3,000 acres are grown statewide – but they are important for supplementing the incomes of local apple orchards and roadside stands during their busy fall season.
McCraw started growing the gourds in 2012 after a hard freeze in April decimated the county's $31 million apple crop, leaving him in search of a fall backup. He now sells bins of them to places like the Grove Park Inn for autumn decorations and to local pie-makers.
Many of the more unique pumpkins he sells are actually heirloom French squashes, including one named “Peanut” for its nut-like nobules and another called “Cinderella” for its resemblance to the pumpkin turned into a carriage by the princess' fairy godmother.
“All of them have big, long French names on them,” said McCraw. “You'd think as ugly as they were, they'd taste terrible. But they're ten times better than a regular pumpkin. There's more meat and it's delicious.”
Source: groupstate.com
