Posted on 09/29/2003 5:51:12 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Floydada boasts heapin' helping of punkin picking BY P. CHRISTINE SMITH AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
It would be difficult to dispute Floydada's title of "Pumpkin Capital, U.S.A." when area farmers produce 10 million to 15 million pumpkins per year and ship them all over the country.
And this year's crop might just be on the large side.
"For us, we've got an excellent crop this year," said Hulon Carthel, who co-owns a 3,000-acre farm with his brother, Gary Carthel.
The pumpkins, Hulon Carthel said, are good quality with a good yield this year.
The Carthels dedicate about 300 acres of their farm to pumpkin production.
"We'll ship about 2 million pounds of jack-o'-lanterns each year," Carthel said.
Troy and Katherine Monroe made the trip to the Carthels' operation last week to buy about 1,500 pounds of pumpkins to sell at their produce stand in Hedley.
17th annual Punkin Days • Starts 8 a.m. Oct. 11 in Floydada.
• Events include pumpkin contests for best decorated, prettiest, largest and smallest.
• Games for children and adults include a wheelbarrow race where contestants are blindfolded and a pumpkin-tossing contest for the under 5 crowd.
• Other contests and games include seed-spitting, pumpkin-rolling, road races and pumpkin-weight guessing.
• Floydada's Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts will man the Pumpkin Jail. Participants pay $5 to arrange to have someone arrested. In order to get out of jail, the prisoner must either pay $5 or carve a jack-o'-lantern.
• For more information, call the Floydada Chamber of Commerce at (806) 983-3434.
"They've got about every kind of pumpkin and gourd you can imagine," Troy Monroe said.
The Monroes have been buying pumpkins and gourds from the Carthels for about four years and always try to make the trip early in the season.
"When everybody starts decorating (for autumn), you want to be ready for them," Troy Monroe said.
Chuck and Betty Holmes are semi-retired farmers, but they kept 30 acres of land to grow pumpkins, gourds, squash and Indian corn. They sell what they grow from a shed on Houston Street in Floydada.
The couple grows a variety of pumpkins, including the very large Big Mac variety.
"We sold one this morning that was 165 pounds," Betty Holmes said Thursday.
Several growers throughout Floyd County generally contribute pumpkins for carving and other contests during Floydada's annual Punkin Days festival. The town's population has been known to double for the event, which will be held Oct. 11.
Pumpkin retailers will be open so festival attendees can purchase the colorful gourds and other fall produce.
p.christine.smith@lubbockonline.com 766-8754
Bump for a daytrip...
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