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Pumpkins can be grown in Mississippi
Mississippi Gardens Newspaper and Web Column - October 6, 2003

The arrival of bright orange-colored pumpkins is a sure sign that fall has arrived in Mississippi. While we are not known as the pumpkin capital of the world we do grow a few pumpkins for seasonal decoration and a few Thanksgiving pies. It's truly amazing that we even have a pumpkin crop this fall considering the adverse weather our growers and gardeners have had to overcome to get this year's pumpkin crop to harvest.

	These boys look very small next to the 'Dill's Atlantic Giant' pumpkins grown by their grandparents on Courtney Farms, in Lucedale.

Growing pumpkins takes a lot more effort than one might think since they are prone to several potentially devastating diseases and harmful insects. In order to be ready for fall harvest, pumpkins must be grown during the most severe part of the summer when it is extremely hot and usually very wet, two things pumpkins don't like very much.

Many growers are happy to get any size pumpkin to a harvestable size and color while others attempt to grow the big ones. Growing giant pumpkins has become a popular gardener's challenge in many parts of the country. According to the World Pumpkin Confederation, growing giant pumpkins really achieved international recognition in 1900 when William Warnock of Goderich, Ontario, Canada sent a 400 pound entry to the Paris World's Fair. Since then, gardeners have continued to tweak their production methods and search for genetic improvements for increased size and weight.

Throughout the last 100 years, giant pumpkin weights have increased until at last the 1,000-pound barrier was broken. Last year, a new world record pumpkin weight was set when Charlie Houghton of New Hampshire grew a pumpkin weighing 1,337.6 pounds! Incredible!

We may never grow the national record winners in the Magnolia State, but we do grow some fairly sizeable, high quality pumpkins. Cole and Slay Wagner (age 3 years), twin grandsons of David and Jane Ann Courtney of Courtney Farms in Lucedale are two future farmers I recently found enjoying some Mississippi-grown giants, some of which weighed in at over 100 pounds. The boys looked really small next to the 'Dill's Atlantic Giant' pumpkins grown by their grandpa.

Pumpkins are part of our American heritage, having been grown and depended on by native- Americans as well as the first European settlers. These early settlers used pumpkin in an assortment of recipes that included desserts, stews and soups. Adding milk, honey and spices to the hollowed out shell before baking is how they made pumpkin pie. Today, we can enjoy pumpkin pie whenever we want it but somehow it just seems better this time of year! Happy Gardening!

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These archived columns were written by Kerry Johnson, a hobby gardener, former weekly newspaper columnist and an Area Extension Horticulture Agent for 11 coastal counties in Mississippi.