Come October, our world is suddenly beautified and our palates delightfully sated. The pumpkin, fruit of the month, has arrived. From the field in which it grows, to the doorstep where it becomes a part of Halloween, to the dinner table at Thanksgiving, this member of the gourd family is a meaningful and major product grown in the United States. 

Of the 67,000 acres across this land growing pumpkins, there is a small garden plot in the Moon area of Mathews where a first-time home farmer, Robin Dehoux, produced more than 20 white and orange pumpkins. There were small, medium and large sizes, and one of them grew so large that Robin could not lift it. “I’ve named it ‘Big Bertha’ and she’s not going to be used for cooking. I will just keep her as long as we can as a friend.”

Robin’s garden site has a history of its own. “It was my father’s garden for years where he always had vegetables,” she said. “Then it became my son Chris’s garden (who was a featured cook in 1998 at age 12) but this year time prevented him from pursuing the garden, so I took the opportunity to try my hand at planting and harvesting. It has really been good therapy for me.”

Besides being a grandmother who babysits two days a week, Robin owns and operates Country Cuts at Hudgins. Getting up early and working with the soil, and seeing it develop, with and without the grandchildren, made her gardening a pleasant task.

This fruit called pumpkin is not her only harvest. There were tomatoes and cucumbers and her pantry shelves are loaded with several types of pickles, displaying just how many cucumbers she grew and canned. 

Good cooking is a family trait and Robin has certainly carried on the tradition. She can make and bake a cake with one of the grandchildren sitting on the counter and not miss a step. “I learned from my mother and my husband Mark’s mother and I enjoy cooking when I have time. I guess baking sweets is my favorite cooking.”

Pumpkins, first called pompions, are believed to have originated in North America. Seeds from related plants have been found in Mexico dating to 7000 to 5500 B.C. Today they are grow on every continent except Antarctica. The settlers of this country learned about the pumpkin from native Americans and used it in many ways, from desserts to stews and soups.

The largest pumpkin ever grown in Virginia weighed 1,340.7 pounds, quite a bit more than “Big Bertha.” The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to cook. Pumpkin pie is second only to apple pie as America’s favorite

Note: Facts on pumpkin were taken from “Fun Facts About Pumpkins,” Virginia Farm Bureau Federation; “Pumpkins and More” and “History of Pumpkins.”