Pumpkin tradition continues

By Melissa Piche Times Contributor

This year marks the 30th year that Don Anderson has grown pumpkins in Wheatland County. 

“We had some land and I thought they’d be interesting to grow,” said Anderson. “That’s how I started.” 

It’s not unusual to grow pumpkins in our neck of the woods, but to grow them in the quantity that Anderson does is the unique bit. This year, Anderson’s yield was between 3,000-4,000 pumpkins with a mix of approximately 30 different varieties. 

“I pretty well plant them myself,” said Anderson.

He often starts planting in the third week of May and each seed produces two pumpkins on average, so doing the math, Anderson planted roughly 2,000 seeds. 

His pumpkins require at least one inch of water a week, so if it doesn’t rain, hand irrigation can take upwards of 3-4 hours. 

“I hate to figure out how much time I spend at it,” laughed Anderson as he thinks about the endless hours he puts into his plants. The value of his hobby of producing quality pumpkins is immeasurable. 

“There’s no money in it, just interesting to watch them grow and all the different varieties,” he said.  This year he grew five new varieties.

Even though he does sell most of the pumpkins he grows, he does donate a number of them to local schools.

“Probably one of the best things I like is the kids’ reaction – kids love pumpkins,” he said. “I keep saying it’s my last year but it’s too interesting to give up.”

He also had a special technique to customize pumpkins.

“Another interesting thing I do is for all my grandkids (is) I brand pumpkins for them – personalized ones with their names on it.” 

As the small pumpkins start to grow, he etches initials into the pumpkin flesh. As the pumpkin grows the flesh heals over leaving a sort of scar.

The pumpkins don’t see much damage, but occasionally mice, deer and even raccoons have gotten into his patch. To prevent deer invading, he’s installed an electric fence around his patch but he still has some issues with the smaller critters. 

Anderson could talk about pumpkins for hours. It’s a subject that you can tell means something more than just your average hobby.  With the changing leaves and the cooler weather, it signifies the end of another growing season. As Anderson reflects on a successful crop, he can’t help but think about next year and what new varieties he can grow.