- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Commercial pumpkin production poses many of the same challenges as growing other gourds and squash plants, like cucumbers, luffas, zucchini and watermelons, wrote Reid Fujii in the Stockton Record.
Growers must watch out for overwatering, plant diseases, and pests like squash bugs and cucumber beetles, said Brenna Aegerter, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in San Joaquin County.
"Like one of the growers here told me, it's a beauty pageant," Aegerter said. "It's all about how they look; it's not how they taste."
While other states produce more pumpkins than California,...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
California is the nation's No. 2 pumpkin producer, but the crop is unusual among the state's agricultural commodities, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times by Diana Marcum. Pumpkin farms tend to be small and most pumpkins are sold directly to consumers by farmers at roadside stands or U-pick operations. California pumpkins are more commonly used for jack-o'-lanterns than pie filling.
"Pumpkins are really different," said Tom Turini, a farm advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension in Fresno. "We're not trying to feed the world...