Pumpkin Numbers Wiltin' in Wilton?

If Cinderella needed a ride to the ball this fall, her Fairy Godmother would have to consider an out-of-state import. 

Champion pumpkins simply aren’t growing in this corner of the Nutmeg State this year. The cool, wet summer weather has spooked pumpkin seedlings from Washington to Wilton and, as a result area, nurseries and grocery stores must stock imported goods, from states farther north or farther south.

“I’ve had no problems getting pumpkins.  I just have to get them from Pennsylvania,” said Carrie Ricciardi of Young’s Nursery in Wilton.

Although there is no shortage per se, the selection and quality might be limited, according to Hugh Wiberg, president of the New England Pumpkin Growers Association.

Local growers haven’t fared so well the past couple of seasons.

Last year, the pumpkin crop throughout New England suffered because of hot, dry conditions, according to NEPGA. But this year, the southwestern corner of Connecticut got more rain than farmers needed.

“I had people who bought pumpkin seeds that lost everything,” said Ricciardi.  “There was too much rain.  Everything drowned and rotted. It all turned to mush.”

The unremitting rains of June and July also delayed the harvest up to two weeks across most of the country.  This means pumpkins might not turn orange or grow big enough in time to be delivered to nurseries and grocery stores for the Halloween rush.

Earth Garden Florist and Nursery is still waiting to get some in.  And a walk through the Village Market confirms that while there are pumpkins, a scant few would serve Cinderella.

Champion pumpkins, the ones that weigh about a half-a-ton, are hard to come by, according to the Connecticut Giant Squash and Pumpkin Growers Association.  The Fairfield, Conn. association, as its name suggests, was founded in 2004 to further competitive giant squash and pumpkin growing.

Selling both the mammoth gourds, and simply those best-suited for your garden variety jack-o-lanterns, is big business.  Nationwide, pumpkin patches covered nearly 93,000 acres of land in 2007, compared with nearly 26,000 in 1982, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  In 2008, nearly 2 billion pounds of the orange orb, or $38.4 million worth, grew nationwide.

As for the canned pumpkin shortage that has hit stores across the Mid-West- Wilton supermarkets and specialty stores have so far been spared; although, it’s a bit early to tell, said Kim Muska, manager at the Wilton Stop and Shop.

“I hadn’t heard anything but then again we don’t carry a lot,” Muska said. “We usually carry more during the holiday season.”