Pumpkin Sites

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Here is a map of my pumpkin sites! After much wheeling and dealing, they are all finally locked in. Reds mark our floral strip farms, and greens mark our control farms. Each shape corresponds to a general surrounding landscape: squares are high agriculture, open circles are semi-wooded and X's are densely wooded. In time, I hope to post a little about each of them.

Carmella's farm is the red X in the NW corner of Wayne County. We also have another preliminary pumpkin site this year at the OSU South Center at the red X in Pike County. Why are six of my sites so far away you ask? Well, that's because the middle and western parts of Ohio are full of monocultured soybean, hay, corn and other commercial grasses like wheat. Due to certain glacial deposits and ancient fertile streambeds these are the most heavily producing areas, and producing heavily has been the tradition there for a long time. The growers we were looking for for this study were ideally smaller-scaled, and more diversified. As a result, some of these farmers work in far-off places, and so that's where we had to go. Extension agent, Brad Bergerfurd, helped us snag 5/6 cooperators in South Ohio who have participated in different studies before.

Interesting fact, two of my collaborators in South Ohio can be located on the front cover of the most recent Delorme's Gazetteer for Ohio. They are both on the same road; one north of Cynthiana and one just north of Rainsboro. I don't even have to open the book!