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Mary Laurance of Mary's Garden of Canyonville has been growing and selling pumpkins for 15 years.
Two semitruck loads of pumpkins recently traveled from a Canyonville farm to Southern California.
Those pumpkins likely ended up at a produce vendor’s stand. From there, to a family’s home.
Eventually, many will probably be carved with a funky face, stuffed with a candle and put on a windowsill or porch for display leading up to Halloween.
More than 150,000 pounds of pumpkins came from Mary’s Garden in Canyonville.
Owner Mary Laurance sells pumpkins wholesale. She gets 10 cents a pound, on average.
“It is a pretty good business,” she said. “This year, I just had an exceptionally good crop of pumpkins.”
Laurance has been growing and selling pumpkins for 15 years. While she grows “everything,” she said pumpkins are the winter’s top seller.
“Pumpkins are a pretty big draw for people to come, but earlier in the year, corn and tomatoes and melons are, when it’s warm,” she said.
Laurance deals in wholesale with some of her other produce, but said not as much, size-wise, as pumpkins.
Steven Renquist, Oregon State University Extension horticulture agent in Roseburg, said other farmers are producing pumpkins in Douglas County as well. In a survey he took in 2005, he said there were 70 to 80 acres of pumpkins grown locally.
This year, he said, he believes that number has increased.
“Probably as much as even 1,000 tons,” Renquist said. “You get a lot of weight out of those fields.”
Douglas County has the capability for prime pumpkin growing, Renquist said.
The ground along the Umpqua River has deep, rich soil, he said. The climate is also what pumpkins are looking for, with long summer days and fairly mild winters.
“The pumpkins love sunshine,” Renquist said.
Pumpkins and winter squash were Oregon’s 30th most valuable commodity in 2005, with more than $13.5 million worth produced, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s just behind strawberries, but ahead of tomatoes, garlic and salmon, based on value.
In 2005, more than 1 billion pounds of pumpkins were harvested across the country.
Renquist guessed that eight to 10 growers combine for the bulk of the local pumpkin production. He said the opportunity certainly exists locally for more growers.
At the same time, just growing pumpkins doesn’t mean they will sell.
“It’s real hard to gauge the demand,” Renquist said. “Most people, it’s kind of a flier you’re taking.”
He said major pumpkin-growing regions typically have a safety net in case of a down year in sales prior to Halloween. That back-up market is a major cattle or hog feeding industry.
Renquist said hogs and cattle “really like” pumpkins. After Oct. 31, a farmer could sell his excess pumpkins to livestock ranchers.
In Douglas County, Renquist said, he’s seen pumpkins just left to rot in fields following the end of October.
“People around here wouldn’t even have a fallback,” he said.
Locally grown or not, residents have no shortage of places to get pumpkins. While rain on the East Coast hurt pumpkin crops there, enough are grown in Oregon, California and Washington to keep the West Coast supplied, Renquist said.
At Sherm’s Thunderbird in Roseburg, store manager Steve Rolston said the store has already received one truckload and some years require two.
He couldn’t even guess how many pounds of pumpkins that is, but each year they are all sold.
This year, Sherm’s is charging 12 cents per pound for pumpkins, which is about normal compared to other years, Rolston said.
Sherm’s started receiving pumpkins, like many grocery stores, in early October. Rolston said the busiest sales week for pumpkins is the one leading up to Halloween.
The store still had “a lot” left, he said, with Halloween being on Tuesday.
An alternative place to purchase pumpkins are farm markets. Farmers can be more secure in selling their pumpkin crop when they have their own produce stand or there is a nearby farm market, Renquist said.
Those farmers know they are going to have customers looking for pumpkins, so it’s not as much of a risk to grow them regularly.
Laurance said she figures to sell 50,000 pounds of pumpkins from her market this year. She said most of what she grew will be sold.
If there are pumpkins left at Mary’s Garden once Halloween passes and the market for them instantly ends for another year, Laurance said she does sell what she has left to a rancher.
“They make excellent cow food,” she said.
• You can reach reporter Paul Craig at 957-4211 or by e-mail at pcraig@newsreview.info.
Those pumpkins likely ended up at a produce vendor’s stand. From there, to a family’s home.
Eventually, many will probably be carved with a funky face, stuffed with a candle and put on a windowsill or porch for display leading up to Halloween.
More than 150,000 pounds of pumpkins came from Mary’s Garden in Canyonville.
Owner Mary Laurance sells pumpkins wholesale. She gets 10 cents a pound, on average.
“It is a pretty good business,” she said. “This year, I just had an exceptionally good crop of pumpkins.”
Laurance has been growing and selling pumpkins for 15 years. While she grows “everything,” she said pumpkins are the winter’s top seller.
“Pumpkins are a pretty big draw for people to come, but earlier in the year, corn and tomatoes and melons are, when it’s warm,” she said.
Laurance deals in wholesale with some of her other produce, but said not as much, size-wise, as pumpkins.
Steven Renquist, Oregon State University Extension horticulture agent in Roseburg, said other farmers are producing pumpkins in Douglas County as well. In a survey he took in 2005, he said there were 70 to 80 acres of pumpkins grown locally.
This year, he said, he believes that number has increased.
“Probably as much as even 1,000 tons,” Renquist said. “You get a lot of weight out of those fields.”
Douglas County has the capability for prime pumpkin growing, Renquist said.
The ground along the Umpqua River has deep, rich soil, he said. The climate is also what pumpkins are looking for, with long summer days and fairly mild winters.
“The pumpkins love sunshine,” Renquist said.
Pumpkins and winter squash were Oregon’s 30th most valuable commodity in 2005, with more than $13.5 million worth produced, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s just behind strawberries, but ahead of tomatoes, garlic and salmon, based on value.
In 2005, more than 1 billion pounds of pumpkins were harvested across the country.
Renquist guessed that eight to 10 growers combine for the bulk of the local pumpkin production. He said the opportunity certainly exists locally for more growers.
At the same time, just growing pumpkins doesn’t mean they will sell.
“It’s real hard to gauge the demand,” Renquist said. “Most people, it’s kind of a flier you’re taking.”
He said major pumpkin-growing regions typically have a safety net in case of a down year in sales prior to Halloween. That back-up market is a major cattle or hog feeding industry.
Renquist said hogs and cattle “really like” pumpkins. After Oct. 31, a farmer could sell his excess pumpkins to livestock ranchers.
In Douglas County, Renquist said, he’s seen pumpkins just left to rot in fields following the end of October.
“People around here wouldn’t even have a fallback,” he said.
Locally grown or not, residents have no shortage of places to get pumpkins. While rain on the East Coast hurt pumpkin crops there, enough are grown in Oregon, California and Washington to keep the West Coast supplied, Renquist said.
At Sherm’s Thunderbird in Roseburg, store manager Steve Rolston said the store has already received one truckload and some years require two.
He couldn’t even guess how many pounds of pumpkins that is, but each year they are all sold.
This year, Sherm’s is charging 12 cents per pound for pumpkins, which is about normal compared to other years, Rolston said.
Sherm’s started receiving pumpkins, like many grocery stores, in early October. Rolston said the busiest sales week for pumpkins is the one leading up to Halloween.
The store still had “a lot” left, he said, with Halloween being on Tuesday.
An alternative place to purchase pumpkins are farm markets. Farmers can be more secure in selling their pumpkin crop when they have their own produce stand or there is a nearby farm market, Renquist said.
Those farmers know they are going to have customers looking for pumpkins, so it’s not as much of a risk to grow them regularly.
Laurance said she figures to sell 50,000 pounds of pumpkins from her market this year. She said most of what she grew will be sold.
If there are pumpkins left at Mary’s Garden once Halloween passes and the market for them instantly ends for another year, Laurance said she does sell what she has left to a rancher.
“They make excellent cow food,” she said.
• You can reach reporter Paul Craig at 957-4211 or by e-mail at pcraig@newsreview.info.
