"Autumn weather with wind and rain always boosts the pumpkin trade"

At Groentenhof Poelen in Groesbeek, the pumpkin harvest is well underway. "Apart from a few plots with high virus pressure, we are satisfied with the harvest. Fortunately, we grow many resistant varieties, as virus pressure is high this year. The wind was exactly unfavourable and as a result, aphids entered the crop even before fruiting, which means a bit more sorting work. But from what I hear, the problems in Germany are much worse," says Chris Poelen.

"But we have access to a good crop. The fruit sizes are neither too large nor too small. The rain at the end of the harvest was very welcome, as it allowed the pumpkins to size nicely. There are plenty of pumpkins on the plants. We like to say: We have a lot of diners at the table," the grower says. "Fortunately, this week we also noticed that trade is picking up again. Autumn weather with wind and rain is always good for pumpkin sales, and we see that immediately reflected in demand."

Poelen has invested in a mechanical harvester this year. "For now, I can still find enough people to do the work manually, but I don't want to wait until that is no longer possible," explains the grower. "We are happy with how the mechanical harvest is going, but innovations always come with some teething problems, so we consider this year a learning year."

"For our range of varieties, too, we are now paying more attention to those suited for mechanical harvesting. All in all, it is a nice interplay between the latest techniques and breeding," Chris says. The grower cultivates about 15 edible pumpkin varieties, of which Hokkaido, bottle pumpkins, spaghetti squash, and Muscat squash make up the largest share. "We focus on the five main varieties; the rest we sell mainly through private sales," he adds.

"At the moment, we are mainly harvesting Muscat and bottle pumpkins. The Hokkaido pumpkins are still at the start of the season," Chris continues. Groentenhof Poelen supplies pumpkins to numerous marketing channels, including exporters, wholesalers, supermarkets, and carvers. "We also run our regular programmes, but our customers are free to come and go. Anyone who pays can have them!"

He looks forward to the season with confidence. "Because of the virus problems mentioned earlier, I expect Germany and Eastern Europe to run out sooner this year. Normally, we are on the market until January, but this season we might finish earlier. Still, the hall is full, so we can move forward."

For more information:
Chris Poelen
Groentenhof Poelen
Derdebaan 12
6561 KH Groesbeek
Tel: +31 (0)6 273 37 133
[email protected]
www.groentenhofpoelen.nl