Heard it Through the Grapevine

Pumpkins are growing quickly! Maybe too quickly… The variety that we planted, Cronus, are supposed to take 120 days to grow from seed to harvest (they’re big pumpkins). Well I planted them on June 21st. For any math whizzes in the house, that means that it has been about two months, or 60 days, since they were planted. I know plants tend to grow more quickly in the lovely Carolina sun so I even waited until the end of June to plant them. Well I apparently underestimated this wonderfully warm Southern weather because some of our pumpkins are starting to turn orange!

The eclipse blocking the sun must have made them think fall was coming or something. We do have some of the decorative gourds and smaller, white pumpkins at the store right now; they take less time to mature than the big pumpkins.

Ever wonder what farmers do in their spare time? Apparently keep farming. One of the guys that works in our row crop division (y’know: soybeans, corn, cotton, wheat, stuff using the BIG tractors) also has a small vineyard in his back yard. We produce guys got over there this week and picked some fresh Muscadines and Scuppernongs (which is definitely one of my favorite words)! They are quite tasty but not very easy to pick. It takes forever to fill a bucket!

Aside from all the picking we are doing, we also are starting to prep for next year. A farmer’s work is never done! We already tilled the soil and spread out compost on the field that will house all our delicious veggies (and of course Strawberries!) for next year. We don’t like to waste, so any produce that we don’t sell and can’t donate goes to a compost pile which is used to add nutrients to next year’s field! It sure is a plant eat plant world out there.

Get to know your farm!