What am I looking at -- Farmers this is for you
Nov 14, 2022 06:50:49 #
SteveR wrote:
A gathering of pumpkins waiting for the Great Pumpkin?
That's the correct answer!!!
Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City
Nov 14, 2022 07:53:58 #
I've seen pumpkins fed to poultry, chickens and turkeys seemed to love them. I believe goats and pigs also eat pumpkins.
Nov 14, 2022 08:14:07 #
Mr palmer wrote:
You are seeing a migration of pumpkins. They tend to travel in a group known as a "Wholata". A wholata pumpkins will generally migrate away from urban areas at this time of year to avoid predators, like humans with carving knives or catapults.
That's what I heard.
That's what I heard.
Hahahahahahahahahaha, good one.
Nov 14, 2022 09:00:26 #
Bartulius wrote:
I've seen pumpkins fed to poultry, chickens and turkeys seemed to love them. I believe goats and pigs also eat pumpkins.
Good thought. Here in the Lehigh Valley, we have a very large turkey operation so that could be a possibility.
Nov 14, 2022 09:55:01 #
St.Mary's wrote:
To know the correct answer, I suggest someone contact Peter-Peter.
Good one!
Nov 14, 2022 12:16:53 #
Just a guess
Someone grew a field of pumpkins. Pumpkins are subject to fungal diseases and have to be sprayed with fungicide to keep the disease at bay. It's possible that they missed a scheduled spray and there is too much fungus in the field to make it worth harvesting. Or an expected market (or harvest/transportation opportunity) collapsed.
They could also have been grown for forage, but that is probably unusual.
While cucurbits are not known for fixing nitrogen, they still represent organic material that will improve the soil if they are disked in so it's not a total loss.
After a harvest of pumpkins, there are still lots of rejected pumpkins left in the field. Not usually as many as seen here. Pumpkins that are being harvested are harvested while there are still plenty of vines left in the field, so my guess is that these were not harvested on purpose. Reason unknown.
Someone grew a field of pumpkins. Pumpkins are subject to fungal diseases and have to be sprayed with fungicide to keep the disease at bay. It's possible that they missed a scheduled spray and there is too much fungus in the field to make it worth harvesting. Or an expected market (or harvest/transportation opportunity) collapsed.
They could also have been grown for forage, but that is probably unusual.
While cucurbits are not known for fixing nitrogen, they still represent organic material that will improve the soil if they are disked in so it's not a total loss.
After a harvest of pumpkins, there are still lots of rejected pumpkins left in the field. Not usually as many as seen here. Pumpkins that are being harvested are harvested while there are still plenty of vines left in the field, so my guess is that these were not harvested on purpose. Reason unknown.
Nov 15, 2022 12:00:42 #
Bridges wrote:
A field near where I live has thousands on thousan... (show quote)
I'm in Central Illinois and just west of us is Morton, IL; "Pumpkin Capital of the World". A canning plant owned by Nestle is there and they provide 82% of what you see in the stores. You can see pumpkins in fields all over. Most are the large ones, but some small for ornamental display. Apparently, the soil is perfect for pumpkins.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/morton-illinois-is-the-pumpkin-capital-of-the-world-or-is-it/
Greg
Nov 16, 2022 02:14:46 #
paulrph1
Loc: Washington, Utah
[quote=Bridges]A field near where I live has thousands on thousands of small pumpkins. I took this photo just a couple of hours ago. It is well past Halloween and the pumpkins are mostly the size of a large cantaloupe, not jack-o-lantern size. I am thinking these might be pumpkins for making pies and if so when will they harvest them? Could it just be a way of enriching the soil and perhaps they will be plowed under for that purpose? What you see in this photo is maybe 1/10 to 1/12 of the field
Perhaps it is the sugar pumpkin that they grow for making pumpkin pies. They are sweeter, smaller, less fibrous. So they are bred just for that. Those large ones are only good for making boats, jack -o-lanterns, and eating the seeds. SLC has an annual pumpkin boating contest. Just for fun, of course.
Perhaps it is the sugar pumpkin that they grow for making pumpkin pies. They are sweeter, smaller, less fibrous. So they are bred just for that. Those large ones are only good for making boats, jack -o-lanterns, and eating the seeds. SLC has an annual pumpkin boating contest. Just for fun, of course.
Nov 16, 2022 08:54:44 #
[quote=paulrph1]
There are large pumpkin contests. Although technically they are squash, the large pumpkins can win hundreds of dollars if they are the largest one (exceeding 2000 lb). In addition to the prizes, the seeds can be sold for more than $1 each to people who want to enter a large pumpkin contest. (That price was from several years ago. With inflation I wouldn't be surprised to see the seeds at $5 each today).
Of course, growing large pumpkins is real work. You have to start with the right genetics and the right growing conditions. Plants will generally set several fruit in a season, so you have to select the most promising one and remove the rest so the plant is sending its energy into the one selected pumpkin. You have to ensure it receives enough nutrition to make a large pumpkin, which may include feeding the plant a couple gallons of milk a day (to provide calcium). At the end of the season you have to figure out just how you get a blob of stuff weighing more than a ton out of the field and into the contest arena without cracking it.
The small ones also have off-topic uses. If you can grow pumpkins with consistent size and weight they are useful for pumpkin cannons.
Bridges wrote:
... Those large ones are only good for making boats, jack -o-lanterns, and eating the seeds...
There are large pumpkin contests. Although technically they are squash, the large pumpkins can win hundreds of dollars if they are the largest one (exceeding 2000 lb). In addition to the prizes, the seeds can be sold for more than $1 each to people who want to enter a large pumpkin contest. (That price was from several years ago. With inflation I wouldn't be surprised to see the seeds at $5 each today).
Of course, growing large pumpkins is real work. You have to start with the right genetics and the right growing conditions. Plants will generally set several fruit in a season, so you have to select the most promising one and remove the rest so the plant is sending its energy into the one selected pumpkin. You have to ensure it receives enough nutrition to make a large pumpkin, which may include feeding the plant a couple gallons of milk a day (to provide calcium). At the end of the season you have to figure out just how you get a blob of stuff weighing more than a ton out of the field and into the contest arena without cracking it.
The small ones also have off-topic uses. If you can grow pumpkins with consistent size and weight they are useful for pumpkin cannons.
Nov 16, 2022 09:42:14 #
paulrph1
Loc: Washington, Utah
Canisdirus wrote:
Looks more like a tax write off...
Pumpkins aren't nitrogen fixers...so they aren't 'improving' the soil.
Pumpkins aren't nitrogen fixers...so they aren't 'improving' the soil.
Any plant that adds humus can improve the soil. Buckwheat improves the soil by making more phosphorus available.
pH, Water retention, NPK, micronutrients,
Nov 17, 2022 15:36:21 #
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