Grown Here at Home: Tips to help your mums and pumpkins last during fall

ROANOKE., Va. (WDBJ) - The greenhouse inside Country Corner in Roanoke is full of mums. Neil Cox is the greenhouse manager. He says they plant about two acres of mums for the greenhouse.

“We start about mid-June, and we plant every week until the end of July,” Neil said.

They have several colors to choose from.

“We grow mainly the garden type because they’re winter-hardy. The floral type is what, a lot of times, the grocery store sells. Most of the time they have bigger flowers, but they don’t hold up as long,” Neil explained.

When caring for mums, there’s mainly one thing you’ve got to do.

“The main thing is make sure you keep your mums wet. A mum is an easy crop to keep alive if you water them,” Neil said.

Also, if you’re in the market for a pumpkin, they’ve got all kinds.

“We recommend people take a light bleach cloth and wipe it off to make sure fungus doesn’t get on it. With these cool nights it’ll get moisture on it and that’s a great way to start fungus on the skin,” Neil said.

When picking out a pumpkin, make sure it doesn’t have any spots and don’t carry it by the stem. If you’re using one for cooking, Neil says, “The green and the skin-colored ones are the best tasting. I was amazed at how much better it is than buying a can of pumpkin. The flavor was excellent I never would have thought there was that much difference.”

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