Marietta (WSYR-TV) - Central New Yorkers normally associate September with apples and October with pumpkins. But this year, they may be in for a surprise if they venture to Tim’s Pumpkin Patch in Marietta. There, farmers anticipate the biggest of their batch will go fast.
While it's early in the autumn season, hundreds of pumpkins have already been harvested, others are piled high in wagons or in lines for display.
“They seem to be looking pretty good,” said Tim Leubner of Tim’s Pumpkin Patch.
The Leubners weren’t always as optimistic as they are now.
All 65 acres of their farm were threatened by a roller coaster of a growing season.
“We are just thankful that we have a crop because we know people not too far from us have lost everything said Erica Leubner.
A wet spring meant seeds couldn’t get into the ground, then the farm was hit with unusually dry weather.
The larger specimens are in short supply.
“They just lack a little size and they probably had a little more stress on them. Also, they're not quite the quality they should be. But they're still in pretty decent shape,” Tim Leubner said. “All through September should be good, but after that, I think you're going to get a smaller sized pumpkin.”
Farmers recommend washing pumpkins with bleach solution once they’re brought home to keep them fresher longer. The Leubners say a pumpkin can last through Thanksgiving after such a treatment.
