Pumpkin farmers feeling effects of late harvest season

BRIDGEVILLE, Del. – “It’s been one of the hardest farming years we’ve had for sure,” Katie Evans, owner of Evan’s Farm said.

With pumpkin harvest season in full swing, farmers say they’re a little behind schedule this year.

Thanks to a late harvest, Evans says they can’t enjoy the fruits of their labor like they have in years past.

Evans said, “As farmers w keep track of year to year progress. So when we’re pushed back a little bit later with pumpkin sales, we face that.”

Sales were up last year and pumpkins were moving in August.

But this year, pumpkin sales didn’t start until late September to early October.

Evans believes the change is thanks to some unusual weather we’ve seen this year.

Evans said, “The spring was cold and rainy and it set our planting schedule back. We’re farmers we’re at the mercy of weather every day it’s just something by trade we’re used to dealing with.”

Even though they’re used to dealing with it, Evans tells us it’s never easy with a longer spring, cooler temps and a very wet summer.

Evans said, “Most people think farmers love a lot of rain but we grow a lot of vine fruit and when you have a lot of fruits and vegetables growing on the ground you really don’t want that much rain because it will easily rot the fruit.”

And pumpkins, since they also grow on the ground are no exception. With the ground too wet, it’s harder to plant their seeds.

But even for the pumpkins that do make it to harvest, some just won’t make the cut.

Evans said, “The wet harvest season caused us to be a little more selective with the pumpkins that we pull out of the field.”

At Evans farm they’ve been much more selective with the pumpkins they choose because of bad weather and in order to check if they’re good enough to sell, it all starts with the stem.”

The stem is a key indicator of how long a pumpkin will last, Evans says.

“You don’t want a pumpkin whose stem is breaking off or rotting.”

As of now, Evans says they’ve been carefully selecting pumpkins and checking stems to make sure they are good enough to sell.