It is the same at Johnstown Farm as it is in all of Kansas – HOT and DRY.  Many weeks ago we began our “Save the Pumpkin” campaign.  Johnstown Farm has always been dryland farmed (no irrigation systems required). However, these past two summers have gone beyond what any poor seed/sprout/plant can be expected to survive. We began this summer using flood irrigation to get to the pumpkin field, but this past weekend, Kansas conditions beat us, and we installed a drip system irrigation on the field. Hard work, but worth it!  Someone joked at an agriculture meeting, “If you want to feel like a successful gardener, grow a pumpkin.”  I think they were correct “grow A pumpkin” – not acres of pumpkins. One can be babied, in fact a small crop of them can be babied, but acres of pumpkins….  Right when we think we’ve got a handle on the water, there are bugs, then heat, then weeds….

We are thankful for the irrigation system!