Growing pumpkins to sell for halloween

[Jessi]

Have any of you ever grown pumpkins so that you could sell them for Halloween? Or do you have a large pumpkin patch nearby that would be too big of competition? Or do you even have any luck with getting them to grow big enough in your area?

 

[claudine]

This is another reason why I think it would be great if we celebrate Halloween here in my country. I grow pumpkins and they're very big, I'm so proud of them! I'm sure I'd make good money selling them.

 

[Jed]

Halloween has been slow to take off in Australia.I guess it must be a cultural thing there in the USA. As kids though we used to pick pig melons and do the Halloween thing with them. They grew wild in vacant lots and as kids we hollowed them out and cut faces in them with candles inside to give to our friends. Gees. I never thought to sell them to make a quid.

 

[Powerflower]

I have never heard of pig melon. They look like a hardy watermelon. Can you do anything else with them or are they not edible?

I have grown pumpkins with good success but they need lots of space to stretch out their vines. I have not sold them but have carved them and made a wonderful pie.

Pumpkins run from about $3 to $5 around here for a medium one. If you had the space it would be a fun way to raise some extra money for Christmas shopping!

 

[Jed]

I have never heard of pig melon. They look like a hardy watermelon. Can you do anything else with them or are they not edible?

You got me googling. It turns out there's two types. Both invasive weeds in the hot parts of Australia but one the pig melon was edible for pigs and jam could be made from the flavourless fruit. The other was called an African water melon and is poisonous.
I'm really not sure which one we had as weeds in paddocks. We called them pig melons so maybe it was the first. Check out both links to see how similar they are.
http://www.dwpicture.com.au/picture.asp?picture=3&cat=Fruit&cat2=Fruit&cat3=Melons

http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1566-0200250

 

[Powerflower]

Wow thanks for the info. You don't want to mix up the poisoned one!

Has Halloween been catching on in Australia recently? I have a few friends in the UK that say it has been gaining in popularity with the kids in Uni.

 

[Jed]

Wow thanks for the info. You don't want to mix up the poisoned one!

Has Halloween been catching on in Australia recently? I have a few friends in the UK that say it has been gaining in popularity with the kids in Uni.

Yes it has in a very small way.Supermarkets have embraced it as marketing tool for the new line of garish Chinese Halloween paraphernalia. Fast food outlets do it for more sales of their burgers. It's nothing much to do with any western European Celtic celebration whatsoever.It like an invention of a new annual marketing cult.

 

[Jennywren]

A lot of stores would really like it to take off here. They also tried to get "Christmas in July" going here for all the imigrants that missed a cold Christmas. That one didn't seem to came to much.

 

[Powerflower]

I imagine its the stores would love the boost in sales. I can't believe the amount people spend on dog costumes of all things.

Is the Christmas in July a full fledge Christmas? As in trees, wrapping paper and Santa Portraits at the mall? Or is it more of a gift exchange white elephant ?

 

[Jed]

Is the Christmas in July a full fledge Christmas? As in trees, wrapping paper and Santa Portraits at the mall? Or is it more of a gift exchange white elephant ?

I'm in Tasmania and we get a bit of snow here in July being so far south. There are some events for Christmas in July ranging from markets to restaurants and lodges.These sort of events help locals survive the cold dark month and get out and and have some fun. I haven't partaken but a small number do and I don't blame them at all. In warmer parts of Australia July can be a nice time of year weather wise. Jennywren I see your from south of Perth. I'm originally from Fremantle.

 

[FlanneryCam]

I've never had luck with pumpkins, let alone enough luck to sell them! The first year I tried pumpkins I got lush vines, a ton of flowers but no pumpkins at all. I was all of 8 and very disappointment.

I haven't tried again as of yet. Maybe 2013 will be my year?

 

[Tmann]

I don't have enough room to do something like that and the most pumpkins I have ever had were this last year and that was 9 out of three vines. They were all grown from where I let the old ones rot from the year before.

 

[ACSAPA]

Even when I had a yard, it wasn't big enough to grow pumpkins. I'm not even sure they would grow in the Miami, FL climate.

 

[headfullofbees]

They'd grow great in Florida.
I've tried growing pumpkin really to eat this year, but there's a little girl of three next door who's getting one, my mate's granddaughter another, and the manager of the park where we have our holiday caravan has a little girl too.
That's three from a possible eight gone! lol.
I won't be selling them though, they'll be gifts.

 

[Chuck]

Even when I had a yard, it wasn't big enough to grow pumpkins. I'm not even sure they would grow in the Miami, FL climate.

You can probaly grow the smaller varieties that are about twice the size of a softball. The larger sized are grown in a cooler and wetter climate on the northern east coast and inland. Grow as you would watermelons. You can also grow ornimental squash and gourds but a carving sized pumpkin not so much