State’s Farmers Report Hefty Crops Despite Damp Summer

By The Associated Press

Sharpen the carving knife and roll out the pie crusts. There will be plenty of pumpkins in Connecticut this year despite heavy rain and flooding in some parts of the state.

Many farmers are reporting a good crop of the gourd-like fruits, said Rick Macsuga, marketing representative for the state Department of Agriculture. Connecticut farmers are expected to grow 24 million pounds of pumpkins this year for fall decorations and pies. Only Massachusetts grows more.

“Pumpkins and items like Indian corn and corn stalks are big business for the farmers in the fall,” said Mr Macsuga. While some pumpkins are used to make pies and soup, they’re mainly used for decorations, he said.

The average price of pumpkins in Connecticut this year is 30 to 50 cents a pound.

Winston Scott, owner of Scott’s Connecticut Valley Orchards in Deep River, said he lost at least an acre, or about 20,000 pounds, of pumpkins because of rain, but another six acres produced an ample crop.

“We’re in pretty good shape, and we’ve already sold quite a few,” he said.

Shelton farmer Terry Jones said the wet summer was a challenge for the state’s pumpkin farmers and some varieties of gourds that he planted didn’t grow because of the rain and cool temperatures.

Mr Jones, the largest pumpkin grower in southern Connecticut, said he was concerned the rain would keep bees from pollinating the pumpkin flowers, but natural colonies of wild bees came to the rescue. He said the wild bees were active on cool and cloudy days when domestic bees stayed in their hives.

“Thanks to the wild bees, the pumpkin crop here looks really good,” said Mr Jones.

Mr Jones, who grows more than 100 acres of pumpkins, said he had trouble with deer this year. He planted a new variety of white pumpkins, which the deer devoured.

At Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford, some 40,000 pumpkins will be sold between now and Halloween, said customer service manager Randy Perham.

Mr Perham said instead of growing the pumpkins, Bishop’s purchases them from farms in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

“We’ve got plenty and had no problem getting them,” he said.