Chris Merritt

Felicia Browell II wrote:Hi Chris. I'm in NC too. I wanted to do a pumpkin patch this fall, actually hoping and praying that those would provide some cash flow from the farm. But the opportunity passed because I had to wait for others to come with bigger equipment, or had to wait to get additional implements for my own little tractor, or wait for rain, or for the rain to stop ... so ... no pumpkins this year. Shifting to basils, potatoes, beans, and maybe late zucchinis. If this round of rain stops long enough!

This is my second full year living on my land, although I am not yet living off the land. I'm a slow learner, apparently. Or maybe I thought I was more capable than I turned out to be in real life! I have big plans, still, so ... pumpkins next year on at least part of the land. This fall I'll be planting blackberries, raspberries, and more blueberries, and I'm hoping to get the chestnut trees planted this fall. Seems like I'm more focused on the long run orchard plantings, rather than the short-run crops. Going to try to be more balanced going forward.

Hi Felicia - Thats tough luck with the pumpkin patch, maybe next year. You know I totally understand about the rain, I think it’s been flood and drought for everyone in the state. The drought seems to finally be easing up for some of us.

I’ve been living on my property for only a little bit longer than you, 5 years. During this short time, I’ve learned that it’s more important to be flexible when you’re living off your land because there are always failures every year but there are also unexpected successes. Don’t be so hard on yourself, we all fail. Berries are a good choice for this area.  Since you’re in NC, there’s a good chance that there are blackberries that are growing all around you, they’re just going to be very thorny. Do you ever forage out there? Also, permies is all about the long term perennial crops, so you’re on the right site.

To bring it back to the topic, I was out in the pumpkin patch just a bit ago and I snapped a picture. It’s not a great picture but it shows a bit of what is happening. For reference, the tallest corn in the picture is 20+ feet tall. There are some bare patches that just have  mulch and there are a few weeds here and there but I’ve never watered nor weeded this patch at all.

I’ve been very interested in this topic for a while. I’m located in North Carolina in the US and I’ve always had such bad fortune with pumpkins and squash. The hot, humid summers seem to breed pests that love this crop. Last year I decided to try something different so I choose an open field on my property and I dumped a pile of leaves that was about 1.5 feet deep over an area that was about 2000 square feet. I left that there through the summer and winter. In the spring, I used a rake to pull back the leaves of an area about 300 square feet and planted corn there and added compost to supply more nutrients. I also pulled back the leaves in small circles about 2-3 feet in diameter and made a mound of compost there at each cleared circle and transplanted pumpkins and squash into the mounds. The mounds were spaced about 5 feet apart. As the transplants grew I pulled the leaves back in around the plants and covered the mounded soil.
All of this, along with being more deliberate about the types of pumpkin/squash I’m growing, has made a big difference based on what I’m seeing so far. It could also be a small assist attributable to my guineas roaming and eating some of the pests. The plants are much healthier and the leaf mulch keeping down the grasses and other undesirable plants.