Where many a farmer currently fears a weak harvest due to the ongoing drought, Miriam’s pumpkins do not care much about this. In her yard in Opperdoes there is now an impressive harvest of hundreds of specimens, varying in more than forty different species. “It’s a good year for the pumpkin,” Miriam smiles. “It’s a summer with lots of nice weather and high temperatures. They love that.”
Behind Miriam’s house in Opperdoes is a fertile piece of land where, with a little help from her daughter and her husband, she grows all those beautiful pumpkins. Although countless specimens have already been picked, the harvest period will continue for a few weeks. And it shows when she enthusiastically cuts off a large orange specimen and lifts it up. “This one turned out nicely again”, she looks at it with a broad smile. “That makes us happy!”
As we are used to by now, the weather conditions are sunny, dry and warm today. It doesn’t seem to bother the pumpkins. “They can withstand the heat, also the drought,” says Miriam. “Nevertheless, a shower is necessary now and then. But there have been enough, despite the recent drought.”
Passion for pumpkins
You could safely say that Miriam has a passion for the pumpkin. It once started, years ago, with the cultivation of a single ornamental gourd. “But things quickly went from bad to worse,” she recalls. “There are just so many beautiful varieties!” Miriam is mainly concerned with the shape of the originally Mexican fruit. “This one, for example,” she says, taking a large gray-green specimen in her hands. “It has a beautiful color, with those beautiful ridges in it. It’s like concrete!”
By the way, anyone who thinks that pumpkin is often on the menu at Miriam is wrong. “I have to say I’m not the biggest fan of the pumpkin flavor,” she admits, somewhat reluctantly. “I do eat a pumpkin soup every now and then. But it’s not like I always serve myself all kinds of different pumpkin recipes. Everyone has their preferences.”