That warm, autumn orange. The lined, roly-poly shape. Topped with a green stem hat … what’s not to love about pumpkins!
For years we have carved faces into them, roasted them in soups and stews and baked them into cinnamon-sprinkled pies, but more recently, pumpkins are everywhere. In soaps and candles, lattes and ice cream, and nestling with mums and marigolds on doorsteps, coffee tables and driveways.
But the classic pumpkin has more competition than ever, with varieties like Cinderella, Long Island Cheese, giant pumpkins and Jack-be-Littles, warty pumpkins and turbans, and every color imaginable. Kirby Lahr, owner of Stony Hill Produce Farm, in Stonington, noted that pumpkins are always a popular item, but the classic orange is not always the top pick.
“The stranger the better,” he said with a laugh. “An unusual shape or color. Anything that’s different, I learned that’s what the people wanted. I would think, ‘No one will buy this,’ but that’s what sold.”
We asked readers for creative uses for pumpkins. Trebuchet, anyone? Feed a goat? Whether for decorating, educating or eating, pumpkins are people-pleasers!
- Race them. “Last year we raced them at our first-ever Pumpkin Festival,” said David Cooney, mayor of Mifflinburg. The pumpkins were allowed to roll down matching sliding boards and across a measured distance to see which would be first to hit the straw bale finish line.
- Fling them. Lucas Southerton, of Millmont, slings pumpkins skyward in his trebuchet. “There is a ridiculous satisfaction that comes from seeing a pumpkin sail through the air,” Southerton said. “And then when they explode on impact, it’s shouts of joy and lots of laughter — a good time for sure.”
- Experiment on them. Chemistry students at Bucknell University, in Lewisburg, provide opportunities for children to enjoy hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) activities. One of the crowd favorites is the annual “puking pumpkins” at their fall presentation. “Science Pat” Martino, chemistry outreach coordinator, explained the puking pumpkin’s allure. “I’d say audiences love puking pumpkins because of two things: 1) the anticipation leading up to the spewing foam and 2) how rapidly (and how far) the foam shoots out of the pumpkin.”
- Juggling balls.
- Shoot targets. Linda Zakrzewski, Coal Township
- Pumpkin bread.
- Animal food and wormer. Dog food, horse, chicken and goat food. Laurie Long, of Bloomsburg. “(Chickens) love them, and they act as a natural wormer for the chickens, not to mention giving the yolks some awesome color!” Barbara Shively, of Millmont.
- “My goats love to eat them!” Annette Gray, of Selinsgrove
- Exercise with them. “We write a workout every fall and utilize pumpkins for all sorts of exercises,” said Stephanie Keith, operations manager at Trot Fitness, in Lewisburg. “It’s a fun tradition.” Some of the pumpkin exercises are: Russian Twist, holding a pumpkin (instead of a medicine ball) while seated on the floor and twisting from side to side. Skull Crusher, replacing dumbbells or barbells with pumpkins that are lifted up overhead while lying on your back. Squat and Press, holding pumpkins instead of dumbbells.
- Pumpkin-faced scarecrow.
- Raise awareness. One-of-a-kind pink pumpkin with the breast cancer logo and space for a light inside and flowers on top. Debra (Inch) Changary, formerly of Selinsgrove, now living in Florida
- It’s a bowl. Danielle Reber, formerly of Selinsgrove, now living in Buffalo, New York, is planning to use white pumpkins as the bowl for floral centerpieces in her upcoming wedding.
- A decorative, autumn doorstop. Edward Zakrzewski, Coal Township
- Place settings. Make a simple Pilgrim’s hat out of white or black cardstock, or Native American headdresses out of cardstock and feathers, write guests’ names on them and use them for place settings for a child’s party. Caroline Flemming, of Reading
- Name cards. Chrissie Stamm, of Milton, suggested simply using mini pumpkins, sans the decorative hats, as name cards at a dinner table. It will add a nice splash of orange and green.
- Planters. Succulent pumpkins (carved, with succulents planted or hot glued inside).
- Cool design. Carvings on pumpkins while they are still on the vine, resulting in a scar tissue that makes a neat design that does not rot.
- As a game. Pumpkin tic tac toe board game (or use larger pumpkins for a yard game).
- Dip holder. Small, hollowed-out pumpkin to hold pumpkin dip. The Team at Ard’s Farm, Lewisburg
- Mum holder. “I like to put different-sized pumpkins with my mums on my side porch. Sometimes with a bale of straw. Also love the small pumpkins (Jack-Be-Littles). I use lots of them inside my house with Indian corn. I love pumpkins.” Natasha Kaufman-Dunlap, of Sunbury
- Double vision. Spooky Double Pumpkin Eyeball. Paint an eyeball on a white pumpkin that is just big enough to fit inside a larger, orange pumpkin. Scoop out the inside of the larger pumpkin and carve a hole on its side to create the outside of the eye. Place the small eyeball in the big pumpkin—creepy! Mike Roberts, of Northumberland
- Festive vase. “Cut top of pumpkin, clean out and use it for a floral arrangement. Take a Dollar Tree vase and set down in and put real flowers in water or use artificial flowers. Great centerpiece for Thanksgiving dinner.” Lucinda Marks, owner of Lucinda’s crafts and gift shop, Lewisburg
- Snowman design. A “flat” variety of pumpkins makes stacking easy. “People buy different colors. Red, blue, pink … to stack, almost like a snowman.”
- Photo prop. “We’ve sold some big ones. People put their 2- or 3-year-old in them for pictures.” Kirby Lahr, owner of Stony Hill Farm, in Stonington
- Pumpkin tree. “I like to take the Cinderella pumpkins and, starting with the biggest and ending with the smallest one, stack them to kind of look like a tree. Put long ribbons on top and let them hang over all the pumpkins, down to the bottom one.” Lori Reichenbach, of Winfield
- Birdhouses. “We dry some of the specialty gourds and pumpkins so we can make birdhouses. We sell them in the springtime with flowers.”
- Creative decorations. “Some gourds can be painted as decorations. Apple gourds look like apples. We paint them green or red. For gooseneck gourds, you paint eyes on them and they look like a goose.” Kevin Dressler, Dressler’s Farm, Selinsgrove
- Make faces. “Draw little faces with markers on the white pumpkins.” Olivia Rowan, of Dreese’s Produce, in Colonial Village Plaza, Shamokin Dam
- Paint them. “People like to paint the white ones. Kids love them. It kind of breaks up the color.” Maddie Rowan, of Dreese’s Produce, in Colonial Village Plaza, Shamokin Dam
- Pumpkin Dip. 12-oz. Soft cream cheese; 2 – 3 cups 10X sugar; 32-oz. can Pumpkin pie mix; 2 teaspoons Cinnamon — Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth, add pumpkin pie mix and cinnamon and beat until creamy. Serve with gingersnaps or graham crackers (Teddy Grahams). Pam Beaver, of Winfield
- Make pies. Carol Hoagland, of Hoagland Farms, in Elysburg, likes to make pumpkin pies using different varieties of pumpkin, especially crookneck pumpkins, Red Hubbard and Blue Hubbard squash. The shells of the Hubbards take on a red or blue hue, but the flesh inside is still orange, although it may have a darker tint to it.
- Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. “Scoop out the seeds from the flesh of the pumpkin. Slow-bake them on a cookie sheet, about 250 or 300 degrees, and you have your pumpkin seeds. You want to dry them out, not cook them black.” Amy Simon, of Winfield
- Simple, roasted squash. Clean the squash, cut it in half and bake it. Add some butter and maybe a little honey for a tasty treat. “They’re very good for you,” said Carol Dreese.
- Pumpkin Pasta. “I make the spaghetti squash with garlic powder and spaghetti sauce,” she added. “My husband and I love them.” said Carol Dreese.
- Make Award-Winning Pumpkin Pie.
- ¾ Cup Fresh gooseneck pumpkin (Cut the skin off, cube it, cook it down with a bit of water. mash to a baby food consistency.)
- 1 heaping Tbsp Flour
- ¾ cups Sugar
- 2 – 3 Eggs
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla
- 1 pint 2 Percent milk
- Mix sugar and flour. Pour sugar and flour on top of mashed pumpkin, then mix. Beat eggs lightly on top of pumpkin mixture then fold in. Blend in milk and vanilla. Pour into pie crust. Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes then turn oven back to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.
- Tammy Lawton, of Winfield, got this recipe from her great-grandmother, Annie Moll. It won first place in the Lancaster County Fair many years ago.
Hot summers make small pumpkins
Central Pennsylvania farmer Kevin Dressler is keeping a close eye on his 15 acres of pumpkins and gourds. This summer’s endless heat, day after day, is hard on the autumn pumpkin crop.
“It’s going to affect the size of the pumpkins,” said Dressler, owner of Dressler’s Farm, in Selinsgrove. “There’s enough moisture that the pumpkins will set fruit, but it will probably be smaller.”
One advantage of a dry summer is less disease pressure, but the high humidity still added enough moisture to make Dressler have to battle powdery or downy mildew and stem blight.
Lynn and Carol Hoagland, of Hoagland Farms, in Elysburg, also suspect the summer will damage their pumpkin crop.
“They’re starting to put out small pumpkins,” Carol Hoagland said of their plants. “They won’t get as big. Also, with the heat, pollen will be cooked, so there won’t be as many pumpkins on the vine. So we’re looking at a lower than normal harvest.”
For several years now the Hoaglands have dedicated their pumpkin crop to a college fund for their 14 grandchildren.
“Whatever we get off of the pumpkin patch, that gets split among the kids,” Hoagland said. “They help with planting and harvesting.”
Not every plant will survive, especially in such a hot summer, but farmers learn to roll with it.
“It’s part of farming,” Hoagland said. “We can’t control the weather.”
