Community Corner
Great Gourds! How Much Will You Pay for a Pumpkin?
Many consumers come up with the 'jack' for jack-o-lanterns, despite 40% higher prices.
How much will you pay for a pumpkin this year?
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports pumpkin prices are up, and in early October were averaging about $4.51 per average-size pumpkin (40 percent above 2010’s average).
“My pumpkin-growing friends and acquaintances have reported that the prices are a little higher this year over last,” says Julie Glover, vice president of the Michigan Gourd Society, an organization that includes members throughout the state who are part of the world of gourds, from growing them to turning them into works of art.
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Glover has been cultivating gourds (that includes pumpkins) for about 10 years. This year, one acre at her home turned out some 200 fruits (yes, a pumpkin is a fruit, not a vegetable). “The prices go up due to a variety of reasons," says Glover, "from just a poor economy to the weather causing early rot for many of the crops, especially when the pumpkins are already ripe in August and September and people don’t want them until October."
According to the USDA, Michigan is one of the top six pumpkin-growing states, harvesting about 95.2 million pounds of the fruit in 2010.
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Pumpkin lovers such as Jessica Kwartowitz and her kids haven’t purchased theirs yet, but will soon.
“We usually buy them closer to Halloween because of the evil Huntington Woods ‘squirrel posse’ that destroys pumpkins,” says Kwartowitz, whose children are 11, 8 and 5. The Huntington Woods family usually purchases pumpkins at one of the roadside pumpkin outlets on Woodward Avenue near Royal Oak.
“The selection process is pretty intense,” says Kwartowitz, “and we’re pretty particular.”
Although the process takes longer than the busy mom would like, she says the extra time taken is worth it in the long run. “We usually go about as big as a basketball, or slightly larger. And they need to be close to perfect … no flat sides or major scarring.”
As for prices, Kwartowitz says the big orange orbs always seem to cost more than what she wants to pay. “I have to say, I'm always shocked at checkout.”
