Visiting Our Pumpkin Farm: A Fruitful Harvest, Good Market Prices and Simple Financing Help

Hello dear garden hivers at @gardenhive! I hope you are all doing well and still enjoying planting and harvesting. Today, I want to share a very personal farm story, one that reminds me that farming is not only about soil and seeds, but also about time, care and family support. 💚💛

This season, our focus is on squash or pumpkin. This planting started when my husband prepared the area of this farm. He did that hard work of land preparation, clearing and tilling different parts of this farm, while I took on a different role, I was the one who financed the pumpkin farming. Honestly that was the best help I could give. That is my way of contributing, because farming is teamwork in many forms.

My husband is naturally more focused on rice, corn and sugarcane. These crops suit him better. Our far, is quiet far, the walking distance is long and the climate here is cooler. Pumpkin farming needs closer attention and because my husband is already very busy, he could not fully focus on it. Framing pumpkin is different, it needs regular checking, weeding and care.

Because of this, we decide to let my brother continue and manage the pumpkin farming I am very thankful for that decision. Adjusting was not easy, but sometimes you have to accept what works best for everyone. And now, looking at the results, I can truly say it was worth it.

As of today, we have already harvested around 120 sacks of pumpkin. Even though there was about of grass and weeds at some point the plants still produce many fruits. Seeing those big pumpkin fruits lying on the ground made my heart full. Each piece weighs around 4 to 6 kilos, which is already good in the market. We are currently selling our pumpkin in the market at 15 pesos per kilo. In one sack, there are around 12 pieces of pumpkins, each pumpkin weighs about 6 kilos so one sack is estimated at 72kilos in total. When we compute it, 72kilos x 15 pesos we earn about 1080 pesos per sack.

For us, that is already okay, it may not sound big to others, but when I compute everything and see the volume of harvest, it becomes a blessing, what matters most is that the farm is producing and helping the family.

In terms of expenses, our total cost is very reasonable. For land preparation, weeding and tilling we spent around 8,000 pesos. For seeds, pesticides and fertilizer we used 1 kilo of seeds, which already used 3 sacks of fertilizer and 2 galloon of pesticide costing around 10,000 pesos. The harvesting expense like the sack, labor for harvest and transportation around 10,000 pesos. All in all our total expenses reached approximately 28,000 pesos. When we compare this to the harvests and income, we can truly say that the profit is big, this proves that even if my main contribution was only financing, it still played an important role in making this pumpkin farm successful.

This experience taught me a very important realization. Farming is really hard when you cannot give it enough time and care. Plants grow better when they are checked, cleaned regularly. At the same time, I realized how blessed I am to have supportive brothers and brother-in-law. Everything is clear, especially when it come to sharing. Because of that we can plan to do this again in the future. Farming is not perfect, but when done with trust and clear agreements, it becomes lighter and more meaningful. This pumpkin farming reminded me that even small help, when done with sincerity can grow into something fruitful.

Thank you for reading, dear garden hivers. Happy planting always! 💚