The Great Pumpkin Patch!

Sometimes the things that make me shake my head are also the very things that make being the gardener here at MacKenzie-Childs so darn much fun. Each year we pull out the stops and decorate for the Fall and our big Columbus Day weekend celebration using pumpkins, gourds, corn shocks, mums, and squash that I purchase from our terrific local farm stand, Morgan’s Half Acre . Last year the creative director said “what fun it would be to have a pumpkin patch of our own”. I agreed but, as the resident agriculturist here, felt it necessary to point out that pumpkin fields are not the most aesthetically pleasing gardens from September on; it is hard to control weeds and the vines look kind of shabby after they have set fruit. My experience with pumpkin patches in the fall is that often they can be quite muddy at harvest time. At any rate, I promised to plant pumpkins this year and set about trying to figure out how to create a story book style garden.

Baby Pam pumpkin- the perfect five pound pumpkin!

MacKenzie-Childs is situated on 66 acres of shallow clay soil over shale on a bluff over looking Cayuga Lake; we certainly have the acreage. We do not, however, have the farm equipment necessary to plow, fit, and plant one of our vacant fields.  Additionally, plowing can bring up long dormant weed seeds and create a huge a huge weeding challenge. Plowing would also create potential for considerable mud if the weather on the celebration weekend was rainy. I decided to create long raised beds using topsoil and compost we had trucked in. Tommy and his brother, Ryan, were given the task of forming two long beds approximately 3 feet across by 200 feet long with enough space between them for two passes of the lawn mower. Tommy was training to enter the Air Force at the end of the summer so he did not mind moving all that soil with shovels and the bobcat; Ryan may have had another opinion.

An immature Fairytale pumpkin

Valenciano- a ribbed white variety

We planted about twenty different kinds of pumpkins and squash in early June. We also planted groupings of broom corn, Indian corn, fall blooming mums, and kale for vertical interest and pre-planted decorations. Up until about three weeks ago we were able to keep the grass strips between the rows mowed and the beds themselves weed free. Then, it seemed like over night, we could not even see the raised beds for the huge, beautiful plants covering them. Last week we were able to water the bed by setting up sprinklers so that both rows were watered. We would water each area for 2 hours then move the sprinklers to the next area. In that fashion we were able to thoroughly water the patch once a week. This week I will have to dive into the vines to find my sprinklers! The vines of the two rows have completely grown together to form one big garden. It looks wonderful!

This squash, Marina di Chioggia, is named for the Italian town where they use it for ravioli filling

Some of the leaves have beautiful netting that makes them as decorative as any perennnial

I had a lot of fun choosing what to grow and now that the plants have started setting fruit, it is like a treasure hunt looking for the pumpkins and fruit in various stages of maturity. I love the variety of the leaf shapes and the vines shown by the different plants. I selected an assortment of sizes, shapes, and colors that would fill my decorating needs as well as supply pumpkins for the Columbus Sale Weekend customers to pick their own. I resisted the temptation to choose the really huge pumpkins- I thought they would take up too much room and would not supply very many per vine. We planted a lot of ‘Baby Pam’ and ‘Racer’ two heavy bearing varieties that should yield nice five pound pumpkins perfect for painting and just the right size for small children to carry on their own. I have a soft spot for “interesting” shaped heirloom pumpkins and squash; anything that promises to be a delicious filling for pies or ravioli is sure to make my list- especially if it has a great shape as well.

Racer is a perfect round pie pumpkin

This pumpkin- Long Island Cheese- will flatten and when ripe will look like a wheel of cheese

Rouge vif d'etamps or Cinderella pumpkin just needs a fairy Godmother

Now, in mid-August, I cannot wait for the cooling days of September to knock back the vines and show me the treasure trove of pumpkins and squash hidden in the grass! I hope Linus would agree that it is, indeed, a very sincere pumpkin patch.

The squash and pumpkin blossoms are suprisingly fragrant

Lucky, our pumpkin colored cat!