This is the time of the year when you begin to see lots of pumpkins. If you are city folks, you see them at grocery stores, garden centers and other places where they are sold primarily for fall decorations.

If you are a vegetable farmer or home gardener and planted pumpkins, maybe you are beginning to see lots of pumpkins in your fields. As the nights get shorter and cooler, the leaves on pumpkin plants begin to die back, so the pumpkins become much more visible.

I say “maybe” you are beginning to see pumpkins, because there is a strong likelihood that if you plant pumpkins in Robeson County, you will have a crop failure. It is just too hot and humid in this area for pumpkins to do well. The humid conditions cause lots of disease problems, which must be controlled by frequent fungicide treatments. Most people do not want to spend that much money to grow pumpkins, and for many, it is just too time consuming.

The term “pumpkin” refers to several different types of hard-shell fruits. Pumpkins, acorn squash and other winter squash are all in the same family.

Some varieties of pumpkins are native to the United States and were used by American Indians long before Columbus visited our shores. Dried strips of pumpkin were woven into mats and long strips of pumpkin were roasted over open fires and eaten.

From this, pumpkins readily found their way to the first Thanksgiving table. In fact, the first pumpkin pie originated from the process of slicing off the pumpkin top, removing the seeds, then filling the insides with milk, spices and honey before baking in hot ashes.

I am sure you have seen some rather large pumpkins carved into jack-o’-lanterns. But did you know that the world’s record for the largest pumpkin is 1,725 pounds. This pumpkin was grown this year by Christy Harp, a school teacher and hobby gardener from Jackson Township, Ohio. She claimed her prize at the Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers Weigh-Off in October. Don’t ask me how she got the pumpkin to the weigh-off.

At first thought, you would imagine pumpkins would grow largest where it was the warmest, such as in the South. But in reality, the largest pumpkins, and the largest vegetables for that matter, are produced in the northern areas. The reason is that during the summer, the farther north you go the longer the days. Remember, near the North Pole during the summer, the days are almost 24 hours long. The longer the day, the more sunshine and the more growing time pumpkins and other vegetables have.

Pumpkins for ornamental purposes are seeded as late as June to early July, so they will reach maturity around Halloween. Later planted pumpkins are more subject to increased diseases and insects, but both require insecticide and fungicide applications.

Pumpkins should be harvested only after the shell has hardened completely. Care should be taken not to damage or break off the stem. Pumpkins should never be stacked more than two to four deep, depending on their size. Also, all trucks and trailers should be padded well.

When pumpkins are harvested a long time before sale, they should be washed or dipped in a 10 percent chlorine bleach solution (one part chlorine bleach to nine parts water) and stored in a dry, cool place to reduce the chance of rot. Storage in the open sun causes excessive spoilage.

There are many publications and a lot of Web sites available with information about growing large pumpkins as a hobby or for exhibition. Generally, you need to select seed from one of the large varieties that has the potential of growing really big.

Prepare a seedbed about 50 to 60 feet square and deeply incorporate four to six bushels of manure or compost and one to two pounds of 8-8-8 fertilizer into the soil for each hill. Mix well and plant three to five seeds per hill and thin to a single plant once they start to grow.

Apply 1/2 to 1 cup of nitrogen fertilizer near the perimeter of the vine every two to three weeks, beginning three weeks after seeding. Keep plants watered, and allow only one fruit to develop on each plant.

This coming year, you might want to consider trying to grow a giant pumpkin for exhibit at the Robeson County Fair and the North Carolina State Fair. In addition to the recognition, both of these fairs offer some pretty good premium money for the largest pumpkin. If nothing else, you can brag that you grew your own jack-o’-lantern.

— Everett Davis is the director of the Cooperative Extension office.