Pumpkins in August

By Lauren Wester

lauren.wester@fct.wpengine.com

For people already in the fall spirit, pumpkins are sure to be front and center in their minds.

That’s certainly the case for Christine Landers. What started with just a few seeds in the ground quickly turned into a pumpkin patch that is continuing to sprout up in various places across her lawn in Waco.

Landers said she got the idea to grow her own pumpkins last year. She decided it would be smarter to grow them herself instead of going to the store, since she already had some pumpkin seeds at home. So, earlier this year she pulled the pumpkin seeds that she received from her cousin Mildred years ago out of her deep freezer and set about planting them.

Pumpkins are a warm weather plant that thrive on proper hydration. Thanks to the high amount of precipitation the county has seen this summer, the pumpkins have grown beyond Landers’ expectations. The only help she has given the pumpkins is a tomato fertilizer she feeds them.

“I’m amazed by them. I didn’t dream they were going to do this,” she said.

While Landers used to keep a large garden all the time, she has never planted a pumpkin crop until this year. But she and her sister Sue love the fruit. Landers has even developed a particular recipe for it:

First, cut the pumpkin in half and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees. Then, scoop out the insides and fry it up in a pan with a lot of syrup and butter.

Landers isn’t sure what species of pumpkin she’s growing, but she claims they taste like sweet potatoes and are even a shade of red on the inside.

As of right now, her only plans are to eat her fill of the crop and share the rest with her family. However, she said she is hopeful that she will continue to plant more next year.