“Our role is to get that potassium back in the soil so that we can utilize it for next year’s crop of corn, or soybeans,” owner Pat Dierickx says.
LONG GROVE, Iowa — When you think of smashing pumpkins, the 90s rock band may be the first to come to mind, but a local farm did exactly that and used the remains for good.
The Pride of the Wapsi farm in Long Grove held its second-ever pumpkin-smashing event Sunday. Locals were able to smash pumpkins. Pride of the Wapsi co-owner, Pat Dierickx, said how the pumpkin remains are good for the environment.
“Pumpkins are high users and have a nutrient called potassium,” Dierickx said. “So, our role is to get that potassium back in the soil so that we can utilize it for next year’s crop of corn, or soybeans.”
Children that came out to the event said they had a blast.
“I think it’s very fun,” Braeden Claey said. “Especially the pumpkin smashing because we just get to beat the pumpkins.”
Moving forward, the farm owners plan to add more to the event.
“We’re going to integrate a pumpkin cannon, pumpkin launching, we own a trebuchet that we’re gonna have, we’re going to have a whole process,” Dierickx said.
The owners also said if anyone has pumpkins they need to dispose of, there is a safe way to go about that. They say, people should chop the pumpkin’s up, put them in the compost, and over the winter, the nutrients will be ready for next year’s garden.
Sunday, October 30 was the last day of the season for the farm.
