Pumpkin Patches around Heidelberg

Hello, looking to take the kids to a pumpkin patch this weekend. Just wondering if there are any recommended places in the area to go. Thanks.

Sommer

We have a bunch near us, but I don't know the picking policy. You could just cut and run

PezMom3, we've picked in Ladenburg before. If you drive from Schriesheim to Ladenburg, along the road there are some signs - at least there have been in previous years. Dunno about this year but I assume the same is true. They're orchards with pumpkin patches. This year we're not going to do that but will go to one of the organic farm-shops in Handschuhsheimer Feld and see if they've got anything good for carving. Junior likes to visit the bunnies and big exotic birds at Lenz, to dig in the sandbox there and to watch the tractors. It's not exactly the cider-mill, 'pumpkin-picking' experience I so enjoyed in my youth but kinda fun anyway.

Driving past the bridge entrance to PHV last weekend I saw signs in English and German for pumpkins (as well as a pumpkin patch visible from the road) but am not sure if it's U-Pick or if they're already picked. At any rate, the vines are all dried up and shriveldy so I think by now it's just a matter of selecting from the patch rather than plucking from vine. In Walldorf between SAP and the A5 there were also signs for pumpkins but again I can't confirm whether it's u-pick or they just have 'em in a pile for purchase.

If I remember correctly there is a pick your own patch just past the Commissary entrance to PHV on the way to Schwetzingen on the right side. Ride 535 West and it will be about a half mile down.

anyone have good tips for picking the best pumpkin for carving? how long does a carved pumpkin last before rotting? i want to carve a few with friends, but am thinking i should wait until mid october.

Elfenstar, if the weather's cold (at least fridge temp) and you leave a carved pumpkin outside, it'll last for up to a week before it collapses in on itself due to rot. If the weather's warm, that could happen within a couple days. The lit candle inside the carved pumpkin also contributes to its downfall after a couple nights, but makes for a glorious scent of sweet cooked pumpkin. An uncarved pumpkin will last a pretty long time indoors (not v. warm) or outdoors - months, for the latter, unless it gets water/condensation trapped underneath, in which case rot ensues pretty quickly.

The best carving pumpkins are generally the tall ones rather than the squat ones. You only need one good (flat, unscarred) surface for the face/design, though, so feel free to pick one that is a little slanted or dented as long as it has that one good surface and it has a flat base so it won't roll or lean. (Rolling or leaning pumpkins can be a devil to carve and can be fire hazards if you put candles inside.) Squat pumpkins are harder to carve in that once you remove the lid there's not much space left on the sides to work with. But if you're keen you'll manage that, too. Just don't pick a pumpkin that is mushy or that has injured flesh anywhere, as it won't last long. Scars are fine, as long as they've healed over. Ideally your pumpkin will have a stem still attached to the top, with which you can lift up the lid once you've cut it off.

Those pumpkin carving tool kits that are sold at some supermarkets here this time of year really are handy - much much safer than using a sharp knife and the save-like (but non-sharp) serrated tools especially allow IMHO for much more accurate cutting/design reproduction in hard pumpkin flesh. Good tips and pictures of carving tools are here: pumpkin advice

thanks darling! excellent tip about the tall pumpkin! <br><br>i want to make a soup as well, and heard i should only buy hokkaido pumpkins? <img src="http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif" class="bbc_emoticon" alt=" "> not sure if i heard that correctly.

I've gotten a good month from my pumpkins in weather about like we have been having here in the mornings. I'd say give it 2 weeks to be on the safe side. Beyond that almost any gourd will do. A serrated knife, a spoon, and a bowl are all you need.

I dunno, Smokeyalien - some gourds are almost impossible to cut/carve. Or maybe I'm just too weak. Probably the latter. But I'll stick with pumpkins. That's awesome that you have had pumpkins last a month - is that after carving? After carving ours always turn black from the inside, not just from candle soot but from some sort of fungus - even when it's cold out. Maybe we keep them too close to our house (as decoration) with the result that they don't get/stay cold enough to last.

Elfenstar, I'm not entirely sure - I think all pumpkins are probably edible but some sorts are more fibrous and/or less fleshy than others. Hokkaido is a sweeter sort, which is why people like to cook with it. I cut a hokkaido in half and remove seeds. Then I fill each half about 2/3 with water and microwave each half (in turn) for about 4 minutes or until soft. I do that instead of cutting (hard!) pumpkin and having to cube it. Once it's been nuked and is soft, you can just spoon it (and the water, too, if you like) into your soup. You don't even need to blend it, as it's already super soft. Yum.

last weekend we made pumpkin soup and it was really, really bland. hokkaido were sold out so we bought what was described as an edible pumpkin (Esskurbis). it really had no flavor whatsoever so we mixed in a bunch of curry and chili powder. will go to a pumpkin patch this weekend and see what we come up with .

Depends on the neighborhood.

Bohemka, you are too right.
Elfenstar, that's what most pumpkins are like when it comes to cooking, I'm afraid. Even hokkaido will often need a kick - curry, nutmeg, something - depending on how ripe it is. My recipe calls for apple juice (cider) and curry, which in combination really perk things up.

thanks for the tips on where to get pumpkins. on the road between schriesheim and ladeburg, on the right side there is a big, huge, apple sign, 30 m past that, turn left onto the small road, follow it to the end, then turn right, there are two places to buy plenty of pumpkins. loads and loads and loads of choices. we picked 3 and will carve them tomorrow!

Elfenstar - that's the place I used to go to. Glad to hear it's open this year - thanks for the follow-up. I'll have to head over there and get a pumpkin or two myself.

Happy carving!