During spring planting! That’s when most of us farmers wear many hats in our day-to-day lives and it’s no more evident in my work than in the spring. As the production manager at The Great Pumpkin Patch, I have responsibilities juggling the things it takes to execute selecting, planting, tending, harvesting, and selling over 300 varieties of pumpkin, squash, and gourds. In the midst of that, there are other “growing” items that need attention to as well. Here is what we have been working on:

• Vegetable production. This has received more time this season than ever before with garlic, leeks, potatoes, strawberry, sweet corn, and sweet potatoes.
• General gardening. We pride ourselves on having beautiful grounds not only in the fall but all year and there was no better time to add and change plants and layout than April and May.
• Pumpkin Farming. We have been weeding, watering, and planting. Pumpkins take work but when the fruits of our labor ripen in the fall, all that work is so worth it!
• Isolation Plots. We have been procuring, planting and maintaining well over 30 locations to grow rare cucurbits in isolation so that their seeds can be harvested and saved.
• Landscaping. We have been refining the landscaping at The 200 Acres as well as at other locations around the community.
• Mum Production – Hey – 5,000 mums don’t just pot themselves! And, we’ve been setting up water systems and prepping the site location as well.

It all comes down to prioritization, what staff we have when, and ultimately what the weather is doing. Luckily, we have an unbelievable staff of hard working people that love working with the land as much as we do.

Back to the circus that is The Great Pumpkin Patch during planting season!

-Mac