By Deb Kroon
Staff writer
For twelve year old Ella Wempen, a seventh grader at Adrian Middle School, and her brother Drew, age ten and a fourth grader at Adrian Elementary School, raising pumpkins has become more than just a hobby. For the past three years, these young entrepreneurs have been raising their own pumpkins with a little help from their parents, Dave and Kristi. They usually plant their pumpkins around Mother’s Day, they told me. They purchase the seeds from a friend of their dad’s who raises five acres of pumpkins near Algona, Iowa. “ We buy at least twelve different varieties each year. Last year we planted some pumpkins with warts on them,” Drew explained. “We try to find different ones, but not too weird. They might not sell around here.” I assured them I love weird pumpkins!
This year’s seed produced some larger pumpkins than they had planted before, along with some white ones and a new variety for them called “Tondo” pumpkins. This variety produces a green and white striped pumpkin that, as it ages, turns to an orange and green stripe. They sold very well for the Wempens.
Ella and Drew walked me through the process they go through each year. Their pumpkin patch is 60’ x 130’. “It makes Mom sad,” quipped Ella, grinning at her mom. “Our pumpkin patch is bigger than our house!” (It’s bigger than my house too). Dave does the plowing, as the two aren’t quite old enough to drive the tractor. The next step is to stake out the patch. They plant in rows, approximately two plants per foot, leaving 6 feet between each variety they plant. The stakes are marked with the variety. “Dad will till probably one more time after planting,” said Ella. “Then we take over because the vines get too big for the tiller.” From that point they weed by hand, until the vines fill in. “It’s been pretty easy this year. With all the rain the weeds pull right out.” If they don’t get the rain, they water the plants with a watering can. Thank goodness for the rain!
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