Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival to continue despite flooding

The Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival will take place on Oct. 12 and 13 this year, even though the land used to grow the pumpkins was under water for several weeks.

Jo Hackman is on the planning committee for the festival and helped start it in 1991. Her family is one of two who grow the pumpkins for the festival.

She said this year, her family had to rent land to plant pumpkins, while the other family had to wait for the water on their land to go down.

“We do have some pumpkins planted now,” Hackman said.

She said they planted around July 12 this year, but they usually like to plant between June 15 and 25. Hackman said they have planted late in the past and still had plenty of pumpkins in time for the festival.

They also planted on around 12 acres instead of the usual 20.

She temporarily moved to Ashland when Hartsburg began to flood.

“I didn’t want to see it,” she said. “Very depressing.”

The pumpkins they planted late are starting to break ground, but they will not know until the beginning of September whether they will need to bring in pumpkins from the surrounding area.

Hackman said her major concern is if other farmers have been able to plant pumpkins in time with the flooding around mid-Missouri.

She said if they do have to bring in pumpkins from other areas, it will not raise the price significantly for those who want to buy them. She said if one pumpkin costs $3 it may go up to $3.50 or $4.

“It seems like we always end up with a good pumpkin fest, and I feel it will be a good one this year,” Hackman said.