Thanks to a wet start to summer, local pumpkins have been abundant this season, amid a national shortage of the popular seasonal gourds.
Larry Hauser, of Hauser Farms off of Road L near Dolores, says his popular one-acre pumpkin patch produces around 1800 to 2000 pumpkins a season and he’s already sold about a good portion of this year’s crop, as he only has around 500 left.
The patch is a popular destination for school groups and families, as you can walk in and choose your own pumpkin without being charged an entry-fee, Hauser says.
“This year was good, because I plant the first week of June ... I went on a church mission to Africa and when I came back the weeds were two feet high,” said Hauser. “We did have a weed problem we had to handle.”
Aside from weeds, one other anomaly Hauser Farms encountered was no early fall freeze. The freeze typically kills off the vines right before the patch opens for pumpkin pickers.
“The good thing is that they’ll last longer, you won’t have rotting pumpkins,” he said.
Bobbe Jones of Jones Farms in Cortez says although her farm isn’t having any Halloween events this year, they do have a pretty decent supply of crop. Jones Farms has a pumpkin stand at the entrance to the farm that is open form 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Our yield was fine, but our issue was with deer,” she said with a laugh. “We ended up having to get out there and cover everything at night which was kind of a hassle, so next year we’ll be doing some deer-proofing.”
Outside of Southwest Colorado, pumpkin growers crop yields haven’t fared so well, causing prices to rise.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Retail Report said the average pumpkin costs nearly a dollar more than it did at this time last year.
Illinois and California – two of the countries largest pumpkin producing states – have seen weak crop yields in 2015. Midwestern farmers have been rocked by heavy summer rains and west cost farmers are grappling with near-catastrophic drought.