{"id":108624,"date":"2015-10-26T15:45:17","date_gmt":"2015-10-26T21:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/local-pumpkin-patches-still-have-plenty-for-halloween\/"},"modified":"2015-10-26T15:45:17","modified_gmt":"2015-10-26T21:45:17","slug":"local-pumpkin-patches-still-have-plenty-for-halloween","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/local-pumpkin-patches-still-have-plenty-for-halloween\/","title":{"rendered":"Local pumpkin patches still have plenty for Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Witches
Witches watch over the pumpkins at Jones Farm on Road M.<\/span>Sam Green\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Larry Hauser, of Hauser Farms off of Road L near Dolores, says his popular one-acre pumpkin patch produces around 1800 to 2000 pumpkins a season and he\u2019s already sold about a good portion of this year\u2019s crop, as he only has around 500 left.<\/p>\n

The patch is a popular destination for school groups and families, as you can walk in and choose your own pumpkin without being charged an entry-fee, Hauser says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year was good, because I plant the first week of June \u2026 I went on a church mission to Africa and when I came back the weeds were two feet high,\u201d said Hauser. \u201cWe did have a weed problem we had to handle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from weeds, one other anomaly Hauser Farms encountered was no early fall freeze. The freeze typically kills off the vines right before the patch opens for pumpkin pickers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good thing is that they\u2019ll last longer, you won\u2019t have rotting pumpkins,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bobbe Jones of Jones Farms in Cortez says although her farm isn\u2019t having any Halloween events this year, they do have a pretty decent supply of crop. Jones Farms has a pumpkin stand at the entrance to the farm that is open form 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur yield was fine, but our issue was with deer,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cWe ended up having to get out there and cover everything at night which was kind of a hassle, so next year we\u2019ll be doing some deer-proofing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of Southwest Colorado, pumpkin growers crop yields haven\u2019t fared so well, causing prices to rise.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s National Retail Report said the average pumpkin costs nearly a dollar more than it did at this time last year.<\/p>\n

Illinois and California \u2013 two of the countries largest pumpkin producing states \u2013 have seen weak crop yields in 2015. Midwestern farmers have been rocked by heavy summer rains and west cost farmers are grappling with near-catastrophic drought.<\/p>\n

\n

Halloween events<\/h4>\n

Cortez
\n Saturday: Halloween in downtown Cortez, 12:30-4 p.m. Registration for Costume Contest at 12:30 p.m., contest at 1 p.m. at the Cortez Cultural Center. Then a Trick or Treat Parade, and a Pumpkin Festival. Games, face-painting, photo booth. Tickets for sale. Details: 970-565-9075.
\n Dolores
\n Saturday: Halloween Haunt, 5:30-9 p.m., Dolores District Office Courtyard, 100 N. Sixth St. Games, fun, food and candy. All ages. Details: 560-1144, 882-3477.
\n Mancos
\n Thursday: Dia de Lose Muertos Festival and parade, 5 p.m., starting at Mancos High School. (Parade participants meet at 4:45 p.m.) Musical performances, art, Chavalos food. Dress in festive cloths. The celebration continues till 7 p.m. at the PC.
\n Saturday: Celebrate Halloween with The Afrobeatniks, with guest Jaime Becktel, at the Mancos Brewing Co., 7-10 p.m.
\n Saturday: Halloween party at Mancos Public Library, with mask-making, face painting, freakish mystery boxes, and homemade chili, 211- W. First St.
\n Saturday: Halloween party at The Columbine, 8-10 p.m., with costume contests, snacks, drinks and Karaoke with Cody, 123 W. Grand, Mancos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Witches watch over the pumpkins at Jones Farm on Road M.Sam Green\/The Journal Larry Hauser, of Hauser Farms off of Road L near Dolores, says his popular one-acre pumpkin patch produces around 1800 to 2000 pumpkins a season and he\u2019s already sold about a good portion of this year\u2019s crop, as he only has around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5843],"tags":[281,21,13,60,598],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-108624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living","tag-agriculture","tag-cortez","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-montezuma-county","tag-public-holiday"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108624"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=108624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}