Rows of bright, orange pumpkins line Capitol Square at the Farmer's Market on Saturdays. Local farmers are presenting the last of this autumn's pumpkin harvest as the end of October nears, and it is going fast.
\We had a great year,"" said novice pumpkin farmer Dave van der Werff, ""It must have been beginner's luck.""
The almost 1,600 pumpkins van der Werff grew on five acres 50 miles outside Madison has been reduced to about 50 plump pumpkins. He said they are nearly sold out.
Eight miles outside of Madison, at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station, 8502 Mineral Point Road, researchers also reported a robust pumpkin crop.
""We have 578 acres and three different gardens here,"" said Judy Reith-Rozelle, assistant superintendent of the research station. ""And we had just beautiful pumpkins. There are a lot of pumpkins out in the fields-white, orange, yellow, itty-bitty ones and even pumpkins weighing 50-60 pounds.""
The research station grows varieties of pumpkins in a trial garden. Researchers evaluate pumpkins by studying growing conditions and trying to grow disease-free pumpkins. Pumpkin researchers also describe the new types of pumpkins for growers and for sellers, Reith-Rozelle said.
Many pumpkins are donated to local charities. ""We figure we can give them to people who can make some use out of them,"" said Tom Wright, superintendent of the research station. Every fall, the research station donates extra pumpkins to Ronald McDonald House Charities, the UW Hospital and Madison-area senior centers and food pantries.
The Badger Crops Club helps raise pumpkins at the research station over the summer, weeding the fields and harvesting, according to the club advisor and UW-Madison Professor of agronomy Bill Tracy. The pumpkins are then sold to students.
""It's a great fund-raiser for the club,"" Tracy said. This year's campus pumpkin sale will be held Oct. 23-30 on the corner of Linden Drive and Babcock Drive, near the D.C. Smith Greenhouse. Pumpkin prices range from $1 to 5, depending on pumpkin size.
