Pumpkins Are All The Rage Right Now, But What Happens To Them After?

CALEDONIA, Miss. (WCBI) – No matter where you look, it seems like pumpkins are everywhere but what happens to all those pumpkins after fall comes and goes..

Our own Cash Matlock went to a local pumpkin patch to find out.

Country Pumpkins in Caledonia has been growing and selling pumpkins for 18 years now.

They offer over a hundred different varieties of pumpkins, gourds, and squash.

But what happens when the rush to buy pumpkins comes to an end?

The answer may surprise you.

“I like the colorful ones because original pumpkins are like just original colored pumpkins are more fun,” says nine year old Faith Taunton.

Country Pumpkins in Caledonia was swarming with people from all over on Sunday, and they all wanted one thing. Pumpkins.

“We’ve had a really good crop. My husband irrigates the pumpkins, and they’ve been healthy and abundant, so production has been really good. We’ve had a bountiful harvest, and we’re really thankful,” says Country Pumpkins owner Jean Colson.

Owner Dwight Colson says over the years Country Pumpkin has added more features to its farm to keep up with its growing popularity.

“We have hay rides. We have a train ride for the kids. We have a 4-acre corn maze. We have a side-by-side that goes around and helps give people a tour of the pine trees,” says Colson.

“Every year, it’s been something new, so it’s just gotten bigger and bigger and bigger and when I drove up today. I was like that is the most cars I have ever seen,” says attendee Melanie Busby.

But once the hype dies down in the next several weeks and the season changes, what happens to all of these pumpkins that don’t get sold?

“There are a good number of pumpkins leftover and we donate these to the food banks, or we’ll donate some to the animal sanctuaries. They say the big cats at Cedar Hill like to play with them,” says Colson.

“Our daughter in-law, Leslie, comes on weekends and she makes things like pumpkin bread, and she makes things with our butter-nut squash. She has an apple, butternut squash crisp that’s real good that she sells,” says Colson.

As it turns out, pumpkins can be used for all sorts of things.

And for the little ones, they’re just plain fun to look at.

“I like the smaller ones that are colored bluish kind of, ” says nine year old Macey Busby.

Country Pumpkins is open until Sunday November 4th.