Pumpkin time!

My first field season is officially done! The perennial flowers have been planted in half of my collaborator's farms, and will be managed by the farmer for a year before they are allowed to fully grow. In my two test sites in West Salem and Piketon I harvested the pumpkins that we studied back in August. In order to assess the level of pollination, Ian and Chris have been counting the seeds in the fully-developed pumpkins like the ones in our Piketon site pictured above.

As some of you may know, pumpkins are the most fun fruit. Not only can you carve them, but thousands of teenagers around the country revel in smashing your hand-crafted works of art the night before Halloween. There has been one long-standing tradition in one neighbor in Cleveland revolving around pumpkin sledding.

Many county fairs have a variety of pumpkin growing contests. Some of the trade secrets to growing an exceptionally large pumpkin are kept under lock and key, but include ritualistic daily care to ensure that the pumpkin is healthy, as mentioned in this news report.

Perhaps next year, after the demolition derby when there are a bunch of useless smashed-up cars laying around, the Wayne County Fair will introduce some new competitions: pumpkin launching, shooting and dropping.