In Season

The Nation Is Facing a Serious Pumpkin Predicament!

Say goodbye to all this.
Say goodbye to all this. Photo: Trazzler

Here at Grub Street, we tend to take talk of rising food costs with a big grain of salt, since something like corn can be up one day and down the next. But this is something we simply cannot abide: Record rainfall topped off by the Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee double whammy has washed out much of this fall’s pumpkin crops. Albany’s Times Union reports that the weather has put pumpkins in peril throughout much of the northeast corridor. And that’s not even half of the bad news.

Though some areas that were spared from Mother Nature’s wrath are reporting bumper crops, their numbers pale in comparison to those that were devastated, which means pumpkins will come to market but they will be in short supply and expensive.

And if that wasn’t enough, it turns out that heat and drought throughout the southeast, Midwest, and Central Plains this summer have further diminished this year’s pumpkin harvest. And out on the West Coast, cooler than usual temperatures have hampered the efforts of pumpkin growers, the Napa Valley Register reports. Well, at least we will still have candy corn to look forward to.

A premium for pumpkins after storms? [Times Union]
Giant pumpkins struggle in cool weather [Napa Valley Register]

The Nation Is Facing a Serious Pumpkin Predicament!