Orange alert
Bountiful crop awaits those seeking perfect pumpkins, By Nancy Kriz WARWICK It was little Anna Gettinger’s first time in a pumpkin field. She seemed nervous and unsettled. Her mother, Jane Gettinger of Sugar Loaf, had taken her to the Wright Family Farm in Warwick to have her first experience of picking pumpkins right off the vine. “She’s hasn’t seen the pumpkins in a patch, only in a display,” said Gettinger of her daughter, who turned two last May. “This will be a first. This year, she’s old enough to appreciate this type of thing.” Last weekend marked not only the official start of fall but also the unofficial opening of pumpkin-picking season at area farms and orchards. Local residents and out-of-towners made sure they had first dibs on getting the best pumpkins. “It’s a good crop, one of the best I’ve ever had,” said John Wright, the farm’s owner, who runs his farm with four generations in his family. “We’re one of the true blue, you-pick- it-yourself farms. We grow our own pumpkins and people come to pick them. If people are looking for a true farm experience, this is the place for them.” Wright has two huge fields devoted to pumpkins. He takes visitors out to those fields on a large wooden wagon pulled by a green John Deer tractor. Pumpkin pickers climb aboard the five-minute journey to the field, passing cornfields, the farm’s first-ever pumpkin-shaped corn maze, silos, and cows. Up the field the tractor chugs like the “Little Engine that Could,” until it reaches a pasture opening revealing pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. With the exception of only a few, the entire field is loaded with thousands of ripe pumpkins on vines, waiting for large and small hands to snap them off their lifelines. “I like to watch her discover things,” said Gettinger, who couldn’t figure out if Anna’s behavior was due to nerves or lack of a nap. “It puts a new perspective on your own experiences. Everything new for her is new for me. We’re going to find the ultimate baby pumpkin.” Down the field, the Mitrione family of Monroe was having its own first-time experience as well. “It’s just like picking your own Christmas tree, only it’s pumpkins,” said Patrick Mitrione. He said his family never had this type of outing before. His wife, Lynda, was busy snapping photos of two-year-old Martin, who seem thrilled with the day’s adventure. And then there are the families who come every year, like the Gordon family of New Hampton. “I’ve been coming since I was seven,” said Theresa Gordon, who brought her mother; husband, John; and three children. “That’s a long time. It’s one of the few things you get to do every year together as everyone is always too busy.” John Gordon was juggling four medium-sized pumpkins in both arms as daughter Julia, age five, was checking out other possibilities. “You actually get to pick the pumpkin off the stem,” he said. “It’s a good experience.” At only 45 cents a pound, picking pumpkins can be a fun weekend activity, though it could get costly at weigh-in time. Upon returning with their bounty, many people bought pumpkins with combined weights exceeding 80 pounds and higher. But back at the field, Patrick Mitrione was still in search of the ultimate pumpkin. He was thinking about Linus van Pelt, the Peanuts character famous for sitting in a pumpkin patch on Halloween night waiting for the mythical Great Pumpkin. In the end, the Great Pumpkin fails to appear, and a dejected, though undefeated, Linus vows to wait for him next year. “I thought about The Great Pumpkin’ when I walked in here,” said Mitrione, while attempting to make his final selection. “There is just too much to pick from.” Looking for pumpkins? For pumpkins and other vegetables and fruits, here’s a list of area growers. Call first to get specific details on what each grower offers. Applewood Orchards and Winery, Warwick, 986-1864. Bellvale Farms, Bellvale, 988-5414. Hodgson Farms, Walden, 778-1432. Hoeffner Farms, Montgomery, 457-3453. Jacobsen Farms, Newburgh, 564-1407. Jessup Road Orchards, Warwick, 742-8557 and 986-3331. Lawrence Farms Orchards, 562-4268. Manza Family Farm, Montgomery, 692-4363. Maples Farm, Middletown, 344-0330. Mr. Apples Orchard, High Falls, 687-0005 and 687-9498. Ochs Orchard, Warwick, 986-1591. Overlook Farm Market, Newburgh, 800-291-9137 and 562-5780. Pierson Bicentennial Farm and Greenhouse, Middletown, 386-1882. Pennings Farm Market, Warwick, 986-1059 and 986-7080. Slate Hill Orchards, Slate Hill, 355-4493. Soons Orchards and Farm Market, New Hampton, 374-5471. Warwick Corn Maze, Warwick, 469-3176. Wright Family Farm, Warwick, 986-1345. Source: www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org