Recent periods of high heat have impacted two fall crops at Templeton’s Jack Creek Farms: pumpkins and apples.
Fifth-generation farmer at Jack Creek Farms, Mandy Evenson, said the high heat typically strikes during July, not September.
“Having it this hot this late in the season is what seems abnormal,” Evenson said.
Evenson said this unusual weather will delay pumpkin harvest by about a week until temperatures cool down.
“Our [pumpkin] harvest is going to be a little bit later this year just because of the heat,” Evenson said. “They won’t last till Halloween and we want everybody to be able to take their pumpkin home and enjoy it for a while.”
Evenson said the heat didn’t cause any sun damage to the gourds this year.
“The pumpkins do pretty well in the heat as long as we can keep enough water to them… If we can keep them watered enough and keep those happy green leaves, that gives it a canopy that will keep it from getting sunburnt,” Evenson said.
While the pumpkins weren’t damaged, some of the apples on the farm were sunburnt.
“The apples — they look so sad right now. You can see the apples didn’t have as much of a canopy as the pumpkins do, and any apples that were poking out in the sun are sun-burnt,” Evenson said.
However, those sun spots don’t affect the quality of the fruit, just the texture and appearance — marked by a brown spot that can be confused for rotting.
“Everybody’s like ‘Oh no, It’s rotting!’ It’s not rotting, it actually still tastes great,” Evenson said, “Just cut that part out. It makes that part of the skin a little tougher.”
Customers can pick other fruits and vegetables at Jack Creek Farmsthat weren’t affected by the heat.
