A Fall Favorite

As the calendar turns to fall, I want to take a minute and talk about the crop which exceeded expectations.  Of course, I am referring to my pumpkins.   When I was building my garden boxes this spring my brother asked if I was doing a pumpkin patch for the kids.  When I told my daughter we put in pumpkins I was met with a squeal of delight.  So naturally, I was sure they would turn out horribly.  Whether not producing any fruit, or despite what was advertised, producing mere pie pumpkins I set the bar pretty low in my mind. 

Almost ready...

The plants spent the better part of the summer taking over my yard.  There were hundreds of blooms which fed my fear of too many small pumpkins but as summer waned, the many gave way to the few and I was left with one pumpkin per vine.  Much to my surprise I have already pulled in three that will make fine jack o lanterns and are already on display out front.  The biggest of the bunch is still ripening on the vine and for good measure a couple of more fruit are developing, although I doubt there is enough season left to see them ripen up.

Fall is a great time for corn mazes and pumpkin patches.   Having our own in our yard has really helped me appreciate the close of summer as we welcome the harvest with the arrival of fall.

Andy