DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Leaves are beginning to change, temperatures are getting cooler and pumpkins are showing off their bright orange. Pumpkins grow between 50 and 90 degrees, and with only seven days above 90 degrees in the Miami Valley this year, the fruit has flourished.
For Fulton Farms, they have already begun to harvest pumpkins for the season beginning early in September, but a recent heatwave and dry conditions have begun to dry fields out in the Miami Valley, requiring additional watering.
Bruce Fisher, events coordinator at Fulton Farms, said, “We haven’t had much stress on them at all this year. We had to use some irrigation this year for the growth of the pumpkins in the gorge.
Precipitation has been near normal this year, providing sufficient soil moisture for much of the planting season. The farm is not only happy with their current harvest and are expecting a great final harvest, but they are also partnering with area schools to provide pumpkins to sell to fundraise money.
Fisher said, “We do a lot for the community. And we have a lot of schools and a lot of the public parks and stuff like that, that like our pumpkins every year. So we’re very, very happy with the harvest this year.”
While they wait for more pumpkins to ripen, the farm is preparing their hayrides and corn maze.
Fisher said, “We have a four-acre corn maze and it’s just remarkable and everyone that went through it during our Sweet Corn Festival loved the idea of the corn maze too.”
Hayrides during the week are available for school children from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on weekdays beginning the first week of October. Hayrides are available to the public on the weekend. To make reservations, contact Fulton Farms at (937)-335-6983.
Fulton Farms will also be hosting a fundraising dinner September 16. You can find more information on the event here.
