Organic U-Pick Pumpkins and More Coming to Washington State University

The Essential Details

• Where: WSU Eggert Family Organic Farm
• When: September 28 (10 am to 4 pm) - U-Pick and Harvest Festival; October 5 (10 am to 4 pm) - U-Pick Only
• Cost: Festival is free. Pumpkins are pre-priced at farm.

Fall means pumpkins, cider, and festivals.

Halloween and other fall festivities are right around the corner. I know, time comes at you fast - one moment your sending kids off to their first day of the school year, the next you're picking out costumes and planning a Thanksgiving meal and buying Christmas presents . . .

Alright, alright, one thing at a time.

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WSU Organic Farm hosting annual Harvest Festival and U-Pick

Washington State University's Eggert Family Organic Farm, located east of the WSU Pullman Campus, is once again offering its ghoulish gourds for U-Pick prices. All pumpkins are pre-priced, and other organic fall veggies, including  carrots, winter squash, beets, potatoes, shallots, greens, and ornamental corn, will be available for sale. The farm is certified organic by the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

U-Pick will be available on September 28 and October 5 from 10 am to 4 pm. Card payments are preferred.

• Check out this Giant Pumpkin Regatta in Oregon!

On September 28, the farm will also be hosting a one-day Harvest Festival. The free event will include face painting, games, and various fun farm activities. Pumpkin pie, donuts, and apple cider, made in partnership with WSU Residential Dining, will be available for purchase. Proceeds go toward WSU’s Organic Agriculture Club. Cash, check, and Venmo will be accepted for food purchases.

No pets are allowed on the farm for food safety.

When you should pick or buy your pumpkins?

Pumpkins, once picked, will generally last two to three months in cool, dry conditions (don't leave one by a floor heater like I did one year!). Picking pumpkins, whether for baking or carving, can easily be done a month before Halloween and two months before Thanksgiving. However, some carving experts recommend buying your pumpkin within the week you are going to carve and display it.

As explained on Real Simple's guide to carved pumpkins:

• A good carving pumpkin is heavy, large, and unblemished
• Look for a 3-5 inch long "fresh, green stem"
• A pumpkin is ripe when the skin is hardened (try a fingernail test)
• Avoid soft spots, cracks, and large blemishes
• Check the bottom of the pumpkin

If you're buying a pumpkin for baking or pies, many of these same rules apply. However, there are many kinds of pumpkin - you should look for sugar or pie pumpkins if you want to bake them. Not sure what you're looking at? Ask a helper at the farm!

Remember to safely dispose your pumpkins.

Whether you carve or bake with them, you might have leftover pumpkin after the holidays. However, NPR recommends that you avoid dropping it in the dumpster, as they can create methane gas in a landfill. Instead, you can compost them, or look for livestock or wildlife to feed. Check with your local farms, ranches, shelters, etc. and see if they'll accept a pumpkin donation!