I used to have a pumpkin patch.
Growing up in New York City, my Mom and Dad wanted to make sure their girls spent some quality time with nature. That meant every summer we enjoyed the green fields and fresh air at our country home in Andes, NY. Our modest 133 acres was just a speck on the map when you consider the land was originally part of a vast 2 million plus acre land grant from Queen Anne of England to a group of seven loyal Colonial merchants back in the early 1700s.
Now known as the Catskill Mountains, the land was subdivided and subdivided, and 20,000 acres came into the hands of Colonel Morgan Lewis in 1741 who fought in the Revolutionary War and was a Senator and then Governor of New York. A big chunk of that land became part of The Gerry Estate owned by Commodore Elbridge T. Gerry who married into the Lewis family, and whose grandfather was James Madison’s vice president and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Gerry’s kids and grandkids further divvied up the property and in the early 1980s, my family became enchanted with the area’s flora and fauna, topography and solitude, and a little bit of The Gerry Estate became ours.
I was most excited about the idea of growing my own orchard, vegetable garden and pumpkin patch on the historic property.
We had lots of success with our cherries, when we could pick them faster than the deer which stood on their hind legs at dawn and nibbled at them until very few were left hanging from the trees. And our zucchinis grew to obscene sizes – sometimes even larger than my little sister’s height.
The pumpkins? Gorgeous.
Nestled in between our 150-year-old barn and silo, on an area we fondly called Echo Hill, which never failed to return a loud declaration threefold as our words bounced around the surrounding mountains, was a shady patch of fertile ground our groundskeeper promised would be perfect for pumpkins.
We would watch in anticipation all June, July and August for the little green orbs, the bright yellow blossoms, and the circuitous vines to get larger and brighter and longer. We counted them, rolled them side to side, shooed away any critters and tried to protect them as best we could.
And during the first few months of school, when we could still drive out and spend the weekends in the country before the colder weather started to take liberties with the land, we optimistically hoped to reap a crop of perfect pumpkins that we could carve and make seasonal sweets with before the first hard frost.
The thick green leaves would create a protective canopy over the pumpkins, so you never knew what you were going to find until you got down on your hands and knees and hunted through the patch.
One by one, like a gleaming lode of golden ore, we’d find nature’s perfection right in our own back yard. Some were round, some were not so round, some were orange, some had bruises, but individual imperfections boasted their beauty. Each one had an attitude, and we liked to give them amusing names as we picked them, before we brought them into the house and introduced them to our parents.
It’s been many, many years since I last knelt down in our patch by our barn, picking pumpkins, but I never lost my fascination for the glorious gourds.
According to History.com, pumpkins are indigenous to the western hemisphere and have been growing in North America for five thousand years.
Illinois has become the top pumpkin producing state, followed by California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan.
Crop experts are saying there will be enough pumpkins to go around for Halloween this year, but they advise stocking up on canned pumpkins now because there may be a shortage come Thanksgiving.
The folks at Libby, a canned pumpkin manufacturer and division of Nestle, said crop yields may be down by a third due to record rainfall in June that fell within a 90-mile radius of Peoria, where 90% of the nation’s pumpkins are grown and harvested.
The U.S. pumpkin market is a limited, seasonal one and according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center nearly 12.4 million cwt. of pumpkins, or 1,388,800,000 pounds, were harvested from 47,800 acres of land in 2012.
That same year the total pumpkin crop was worth more than $148.9 million, up from $113.1 million the previous year.
And for those of you who thought you knew everything there was to know about pumpkins… they’re a fruit. Actually, they’re considered a berry, and can grow anywhere from less than 1 pound to more than a 1,000 pounds.
Here in New Orleans, there’s no shortage of Fall’s favorite orange delight, or places to indulge in your pumpkin picking proclivities.
Here are 13:
NEW ORLEANS
• Ghosts in the Oaks
Carousel Gardens Amusement Park in City Park
New Orleans, LA 70124
(504) 482- 4888
October 23 – October 24, 2015
Hosted by Friends of City Parks, this 2 night Halloween fundraising event includes unlimited rides in Carousel Gardens, trick-or-treating in Storyland, arts and crafts and a pumpkin patch.
http://neworleanscitypark.com/events/ghost-in-the-oaks
• Wheel Fun Rentals at City Park
North side of Big Lake in City Park
New Orleans, LA 70124
(504) 300-1289
October 3 – October 25, 2015
You'll arrive to find a field filled with vibrant farm grown pumpkins in many shapes and sizes. Guests receive 1 small pumpkin included in their admission prices; larger pumpkins will be sold based on weight.
http://wheelfunrentals.com/theirftp/NewOrleans-PumpkinPatch.php
• First Presbyterian Church
5401 S. Claiborne Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70125
(504) 866-7409
October 3 – October 31, 2015
The pumpkin patch is the biggest fundraiser for the church's homeless outreach ministry, the Program of Hope, and the pumpkins for sale were grown on Navajo land in the Four Corners area of New Mexico.
http://fpcno.org/pumpkin-patch
• St. Bernard Parish Catholic Church
2805 Kenilworth St.
New Orleans, LA 70124
October 14 – October 31, 2015
Pumpkin patch and hay rides.
www.stbernard-stbla.com/pumpkin_patch.htm
• St. Paul’s Episcopal School
6249 Canal Blvd., corner of Canal and Harrison
New Orleans, LA 70124
(504) 488-1319
October 10 – October 30, 2015
Pumpkins of all sizes and photo ops.
• Sugar Roots Farm
10701 Willow Dr.
New Orleans, LA 70131
(504) 296-0435
October 24 – October 25, 2015
Pumpkin picking, farm animals, hay rides, horse rides, face painting, children’s crafts, photo ops, baked goods and more.
METAIRIE
• Plum St. Snoballs Pumpkin Patch in Lafreniere Park
3000 Downs Blvd., near the Carousel and the the Splash Pad
Metairie, LA 70003
(504) 256-3298
Opens October 1st
A pumpkin patch photographer will be taking photos on October 17, 18, 24 and 25.
www.plumstreetsnoball.com/2nd-location-metairie/
• St. Augustine Episcopal Church
3412 Haring Rd.
Metairie, LA 70006
(504) 887-4801
October 8 – October 31, 2015
Pumpkin Palooza takes place on October 24.
• St. Martin’s Episcopal Church
2216 Metairie Rd.
Metairie, LA 70001
October 1 – October 31, 2015
Find pumpkins of all sizes, a decorated area to take photos and enjoy free pumpkin carving tips and recipes. Plus, leave monetary or non-perishable food items for the Second Harvest Food Bank.
HARVEY
• St. Mark's Episcopal Church
3245 Manhattan Blvd.
Harvey, LA 70058
(504) 366-0123
October 12 – October 31, 2015
Pumpkins of all sizes for the whole family.
COVINGTON
• St. Peter Catholic Church
125 E. 19th Ave., near the corner of Jefferson and Temperance Streets
Covington, LA 70433
(985) 892-2422
October 17 – October 31, 2015
Pumpkin sales benefit the Knights of Columbus, who said their pumpkin patch offers the largest selection of pumpkins in Western St. Tammany Parish.
• TerraBella Village
111 Terra Bella Blvd.
Covington, LA 70433
(985) 871-7171
October 31, 2015
The 7th Annual "Pumpkins-in-the-Park" at TerraBella Village features pumpkins, pumpkin painting, face painting, a jump house, hay rides, crafts for the kids, light refreshments and more. Donate non-perishable food items to the Covington Food Bank.
www.terrabellavillage.com/calendar.html
SLIDELL
• First United Methodist
433 Erlanger St.
Slidell, LA 70458
(985) 643-6437
September 26 – October 31, 2015
Olde Towne Pumpkin Festival takes place October 10.
