Do you grow a vegetable garden?
Consider adding pumpkins, and selling them.
A roadside stand will surprise you at how much money it will make.
I did a little internet research, and found out the name pumpkin is Greek for large melon. 1.5 billion, yes billion pounds of pumpkins are produced in the U.S. each year. Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are the top producing pumpkin states. 95% of the U.S. crop is grown in Illinois.
Ever heard of the giant pumpkin?
The Charlie brown pumpkin made the giant pumpkin popular.
I was unaware that the town of Half Moon Bay, California holds an annual Pumpkin and Arts Festival each year, drawing over 250,000 visitors, and includes the World Champion Pumpkin Weigh-Off. Farmers from all over the U.S. compete to determine who can grow the largest gourd. The winning pumpkin regularly tops the scale at more than 1200 pounds. The current world record holder weighs in at 1,725-pounds.
I wonder how they move a pumpkin that large around?
Morton, Illinois , declares itself the pumpkin capital of the world. They have a Pumpkin Festival every year. Morton is where Nestlé's pumpkin packing plant is located, and where 90% of canned pumpkins eaten in the US are processed.
I never thought about it, but there is a big debate about whether a pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable. How about it, is the pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable?
I was talking to a guy at the factory the other day, and he told me that he sells pumpkins every fall. He lives on the main roadway to a large lake, and all the lake owners stop and buy his pumpkins. He told me, if you have about ½ acre of land, you could make between 1,000 – 1,500 dollars. He also commented that if you had about 20 acres, you could easily make a living raising pumpkins.
In my area, pumpkins are big sellers in the fall. This guy also raises ornamental gourds. Planting the seed in a fence row, he lets the vine grow in the fence and the gourds hang down in the fence. He added they are big sellers too.
I once had a vine gourd that grew up a tree. It looked like a gourd tree with gourds hanging down from the branches. Some of the gourd necks were over 3 feet long!
My friend also sells Corn shucks for decoration. He ties a few in a bundle and sells them for a dollar.
He said to be sure to undercut the stores when you price your pumpkins. He piles his pumpkins into three groups. The one dollar pile, the two dollar pile, and the three dollar pile. Of course the price is based on size. A coffee can is placed on a telephone pole for the customer to put the money in. He relies on the honor system, and said if someone wants a pumpkin so bad they have to steal it, they are welcome to it. When his daughters get off the bus from school each afternoon, they eagerly check the coffee can for cash. They collect money every day, and he lets his daughters have the cash.
The last few years a farmer across town has been selling pumpkins for $3.00 apiece. Last fall, when I finally decided to stop and check him out, it was to late. He was sold out.
There also used to be a farmer in our area, that drove a route and sold pumpkins and cantaloupe wholesale to gas stations. The stations marked up the price, and everyone was happy.
I have considered growing pumpkins the last few years, and even setting up a roadside stand. I planned to add cataloupe too. After I observed the farmer near town selling out, it has motivated me to get started. I never considered adding ornamental gourds, but they will make a nice addition.
My wife and I grow a vegetable garden every year. I've considered building a green house, and I even looked into hydroponics. I’m going to plant few rows of pumpkins in my garden this year. Kind of testing the market, and then expand as demand for my pumpkins and cantaloupe grow.
It’s possible it could develop into a full fledged vegetable stand.
A part-time, (and passive) seasonal income...
I discovered the name "Jack O'Lantern" comes from an old Irish myth about a man named, Stingy Jack.
I thought it was a interesting legend:
According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks with. Once the Devil changed, Jack, true to his name, decided to keep the coin and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, this prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil under the condition that he would not bother Jack, and that should Jack die, he would not claim his soul.
Of course soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such a nasty figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him, kept his word and would not to claim his soul. He would not allow Jack into hell either. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."
In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o'lanterns.
