A farm-like setting decorated with hundreds of pumpkins is a common sight around Turlock in the fall, but this year a Central Valley harvest will be shared with families from around the world at a new exhibit featuring locally grown pumpkins at an international tourist destination.
The pumpkins that Ron and Karen Macedo grow in their Turlock fields are well-known for their quality and diverse varieties and over 4,000 of those local gourds are the centerpiece of the “Autumn Harvest” display at the Gardens by the Bay, an international horticultural attraction located in Singapore.
“We are very excited and happy about it. It’s pretty amazing that they found us and amazing that it worked out,” said Karen Macedo.
R.A.M. Farms was contacted by Geller International, an agricultural export management company, which knew about Turlock and the Gardens by the Bay’s need for pumpkins that would hold up to travel and weeks of being on display. The pumpkins traveled by truck the last week of August from Turlock to San Francisco and then by plane to Singapore.
It wasn’t an easy process getting thousands of pumpkins ready for the exhibit, which opened Sept. 1, according to Macedo.
“The early harvest requested — a month earlier than normal — plus the unusually hot weather this summer made growing and harvesting the pumpkins early a challenge. Singapore wanted them earlier, but they weren't maturing fast enough because of the weather. But Ron has over 30 years’ experience growing pumpkins, along with drip irrigation and our faithful employees, we were able to ship over 4,100 pumpkins —including seven Atlantic Giants of over 400 pounds,” she said.
Twenty-five of the 40 varieties of pumpkins that R.A.M. Farms grows are represented in the “Autumn Harvest” exhibit.
Singapore isn’t the only place that will feature R.A.M. Farms pumpkins this fall. The Turlock growers also took a truck load of pumpkins to Disneyland to be part of the amusement park’s Halloween decorations.
Of course, those wanting to check out the famous pumpkins can also visit R.A.M. Farms’ corn maze and pumpkin patch from Sept. 30 through Oct. 31 at 716 N. Daubenberger Rd., in Turlock.
